Deadly Illusions
by BillAtWork
Summary: This is a sequel to the Cost of Love Remastered. Chuck and Sarah face new enemies as they find out that many things they thought they knew are actually more complicated. This is an adult oriented story, not smut. See each chapter for content warnings.
1. The Luckiest Man in the World

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

_This is the sequel to The Cost of Love Re-mastered. And although reading that story isn't absolutely required, it will make this make a lot more sense. There were original characters previously introduced that have prominent roles. _

_The idea for this plotline is courtesy of my friend Phnxgrl. Thank her, or blame her as you feel led, lol._

_The previous story was rated M. I struggled with the decision on how to rate this story. The story I want to tell definitely has mature adult situations. To be sensitive to people that would want to avoid that kind of story I wanted to rate it M. But I also realize that means a large percentage of the fandom will never see it. So I think I'm going to try and post this as both a T and an M story. It will be the same story, just the T version will be toned down and the adult situations more implied. Even the M version won't ever be smut. That's not my style. I blush when I even think of typing those explicit sex type words. But even the T version will be an adult story._

_A word to the wise. One doesn't write an M rated Chuck story if you're looking for huge hit numbers or tons of reviews. That's just a fact of life. There will be plenty of fluffy moments. But this story is going to start off very dark, darker than anything I've ever done, and stay there for a while. Chuck and Sarah, and by extension Team B, have enemies that they don't even know about. And it's hard to defend yourself against the threat that surprises you. So expect some hard choices to be made. Hopefully the story will be tense and exciting. Things will look bad for a while. You know my style. I'm probably going to try and fool you at some point into thinking the worst has happened. If you can't enjoy that sort of edgy story, there is not a thing in the world wrong with that. But please stop reading. Sending me cowardly anonymous reviews isn't going to do any good. The story is already written. If not a single person reads or reviews, ultimately I'm doing this for me. _

_If I haven't scared you off yet, here is one ray of hope. A BillAtWork story will always have a sappy, romantic, happy ending. This one promises to be even more sappy and romantic then usual._

_BTW, We'll meet some existing villains from the show. But Daniel Shaw doesn't exist in this universe so don't worry about that. Would that he didn't exist in any universe, sigh._

_Having said all that, I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

**The Luckiest Man in the World**

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck had to admit one thing. Whatever bit of resentment towards Dad remained, and honestly there was still a bit, being a multi-billionaire made it much easier to take. The private island just thirty miles off the coast of Puerto Rico that Dad had somehow found for them was beyond perfect. They had been here for a couple of months but time honestly seemed to no longer have any meaning. It seemed more like just a few days. Chuck and Sarah were actually the last ones living on The Enforcer. All the other couple's cottages had already been completed.

The compound was an absolute work of art. There really was no reason to spare any expense, so Steven brought in a community planner and architect… and they had struck gold. It was designed like a wheel. Each couple had a cottage on a spoke with absolute privacy. But they all were a short walk down a hallway to the common area in the hub.

The hub was the heart of the compound. It had a world class entertainment room, meeting room, kitchen, dining area, and a communications center that put anything NASA had to pitiful shame. It was built on a plateau, high enough to be out of reach of any tropical storm surge, but still a gentle walk to the brilliant white beach or the dock where The Enforcer was currently docked. The air strip where the private jet that Chuck quickly renamed 'Sarah's latest toy' was parked just a short golf cart ride away.

The perimeter of the compound was surrounded by a security system that would rival that of a nuclear missile base. With Volkoff still out there someplace it made sense. There was no question but that his power had greatly diminished. He had lost his mercenary army a few weeks ago when he started missing payrolls. The Russian government had seized his compound. Steven was trying to keep tabs on him but since he was currently underground, that was difficult. The only trace was that some of his valuable heirlooms were showing up for sale on various web sites. Tracking those items meant he probably had wandered through Europe, stayed in Italy for a while, then made his way somehow to Venezuela. And Volkoff wasn't the only enemy they had encountered over the years. So Casey and Laura were asked to spare no expense in planning for their defense. Not only were there formidable visible security features, there were hidden ones as well. Lord help the poor bastard that tried to enter the compound uninvited. It would be a serious mistake.

Whoever called the living quarters 'cottages' surely had a sense of humor. From the outside they maybe looked like a basic hut. But once you stepped foot inside, any resemblance ended. It was modern, well lit, and had all of the comfort features that a billionaire would expect including a small kitchenette, huge plasma television, and a whirlpool tub that could hold a small army. The master bedroom was bigger than Ellie's apartment back in Burbank.

The truth was that Chuck and Sarah could probably have moved into their cottage as well. The workers were just finishing up installing the kitchen appliances and electronics. Sarah had little use for electronics anyway, and even less for kitchen appliances. Why cook when you had a world class chef who had a massive crush on you, an unlimited food budget, and was dying to impress?

But the real reason was that they were simply in love with the ship. It was the first place that together they could call home and they, well especially Sarah, were reluctant to move.

"You do realize," Chuck said as he walked up to the main deck with two bottles of cold water. "We're going to have to start wearing clothes again pretty soon, right?"

"I don't want to," Sarah said with a faux pout, sounding every bit like a four year old who didn't want to pick up her toys.

Chuck paused to admire his wife. She was lying on her back on a lounge chair soaking up the sun, totally naked save for her ray ban sunglasses. "You do realize that people can see up here?" he asked.

Sarah didn't move a muscle. "There's nobody within a quarter mile of us," she protested. "Even Chef and the crew moved to the island. Who can see?"

That got Chuck laughing. Technically that was probably an exaggeration. He could see most of the gang jumping waves just outside of the protected cove on jet skis. But they were plainly too busy trying to avoid being run over by Ellie, who was quickly getting a reputation as something of a maniac with a jet ski between her legs, to look over here, even if they did have the desire. But the workers, well that was probably a different story. There were currently a couple dozen on the island. And it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what they were thinking when they looked at the bevy of beautiful women in bikinis, or often less. Since Chuck had a plain view of the compound off in the distance, it was fairly intuitive that anybody there had a plain view of the ship. "You've never heard of binoculars?" he mocked. "Telephoto camera lens? Telescopes maybe?"

Sarah clearly wasn't concerned. "Why would anyone go to all that trouble?" she asked.

Chuck was incredulous. "You're joking right?" he asked. "When is the last time you've looked into a mirror? Mrs. Bartowski, you happen to be the most beautiful woman in the whole wide world. There isn't a man breathing who wouldn't sell his grandma to the devil to get a peak at you lying there, especially given the provocative way you're currently holding your legs. With all of the workers on the island? I'm not sure about how many women would sell their grandma to see you naked. Carina comes to mind."

"Carina's already seen me naked," Sarah pointed out with a yawn. "She's even seen you naked. Remember that night on the ship? And I would like to remind you that if anybody including Carina is looking, your butt is just as naked."

"Yeah," Chuck said sarcastically. "Like anybody would even notice I'm here."

That got Sarah softly chuckling. "Let them look," she finally said with a sigh as she stretched her arms.

"Now see," Chuck teased. "Why couldn't you have had this attitude when we were poor? One strategic Men's magazine, a few high quality images of your current position in a centerfold, and we're in the big money."

"You're disgusting," Sarah replied now openly laughing. "But I no longer care. I'm far too happy to worry about something petty like somebody getting a cheap thrill looking at me. So thank you for that."

Chuck laughed. "You thank me every single day," he said. "When are you going to accept that this is now our life?"

Sarah didn't laugh. "Okay," she sighed. "Yes, I'm out of control. I get that. Make fun of me if you must. But I'm going to keep saying it until I'm convinced you believe me. Anything that you ever want from me, that's not hyperbole, Chuck. I mean anything, in bed or out… just ask and it's yours." She finally smiled at his look. "Like I said, I'm going to keep saying it until you believe it." Then she changed the subject with a grin. "Besides, with Carina back, I predict that not many more clothes are being worn by the rest of the team."

"What?" Chuck protested. "Everyone more or less stayed dressed last night."

"That was just to not horrify Alex on her first night," Sarah insisted. "I'm really happy that Morgan and Alex decided to accept your invitation to come live with us. That took some guts seeing that they just started dating and weren't beginning to talk about getting serious. But introducing a sweet young innocent thing like Alex? With this crew, that's like throwing blood into shark infested waters. It is a sure thing that Laura, Joey, and Carina already have a friendly wager on which will first corrupt her into loosing some clothes on the dance floor tonight. Maybe you should warn Morgan."

"Trust me," Chuck said. "If Ellie is ever less than fully clothed, Morgan will be completely uninterested in anything Alex does, on the dance floor or otherwise. The little man has been trying to get a glimpse of her… umm… her assets since he was twelve. His quest has been most relentless, fairly impressive, albeit a little creepy. Ellie's allowed him to come oh so close so many times. Frustrating Morgan is her favorite sport. Need I remind you that Alex's dad will be in attendance? I seriously doubt that Alex will get naked in front of Casey tonight."

"You're disparaging my girls," Sarah said with a laugh. "I feel the need to defend their skills. Our regular bet that they get her at least topless at some point tonight?"

"Admit it," Chuck said. "You enjoy losing these bets to me. You just set up opportunities to have to pay off. You have yourself a bet."

"I'd like to point out that Ellie's dad will be there too," Sarah said with a grin. "Double or nothing that it doesn't make a difference. Morgan's quest ends tonight. She'll have to find another way to torment him."

"Done," Chuck said confidently.

"Morgan is going to be in a tough spot," Sarah said with a giggle. "Poor Alex. She strikes me as the jealous type. With Carina, that's like waiving a red flag in front of a angry bull. And just when she thinks that she is jealous of Carina… along comes Ellie. Luckily she'll be too drunk to care. Tonight is going to be so much fun… on many levels."

"I think you may be enjoying this situation a little too much," Chuck said as he playfully squirted some of the ice cold water on her."

Well, that got Sarah moving. "Damn," she said as she jumped up. "You are going to pay for that." Then her grin turned decidedly evil. "I'm enjoying the situation a little too much?" she mocked. "Tell me that you're seriously not looking forward to seeing Alex topless tonight. Maybe you're not quite into selling your grandma territory. But who are we kidding? You're driving in that direction and already very close to the same zip code."

Chuck seriously didn't know what to do. The red that he could feel rising up his neck and into his face at warp speed made any denial pointless. But this was Sarah. She was a known jealous hothead with a hair trigger. "Umm," was all he could almost say… awkwardly.

Fortunately Sarah let him off the hook. "Relax," she said as she started laughing. "She's your type. I get that. It's no crime to notice that she is sexy… as long as all you ever do is look. In fact, it may be something that I can use to my advantage. Maybe I can tell you a sexy piece of fiction tonight that… well, inspires you."

"I would never begin to think of cheating on you," Chuck said, now genuinely offended. "Okay, yes. I'll admit it. I find Alex incredibly attractive. That honestly embarrasses me. But I'm married. Morgan is family."

Sarah was enjoying her sport. "Yeah," she said sarcastically. "Like Morgan has never attempted to look down my shirt with approving eyes. Triple our bet that I could get him drooling within an hour tonight. He'll forget Ellie is in the room."

"No bet," Chuck said sadly. "You'd win easily. I don't deny that. The thing is, the idea of you overtly flirting with Morgan, even as a joke would just make things tense for a long while. Alex is maybe even more jealous than you are."

"Here is the deal," Sarah replied. "With Carina on the island, my doing anything is moot. The odds that she is going to take a shot at seducing him approach 100%. She'll probably even work it out so that Alex sees them going at it at their most exciting point. She's not being mean. That's just her."

Chuck sadly realized that Sarah was right. "I'll talk to her," he sighed. "The fallout from that would be pretty predictable. We don't need that much drama. Closing the loop on Alex, for the record I'm married to the most beautiful girl in the world. For some reason I still can't figure out, this beautiful woman is in love with me. I would never do anything to risk messing that up. I'm sorry if I put an unpleasant thought in your head."

"Wow, good answer," said Sarah, now clearly teasing as she resumed her previous position and her deceptively strong arms pulled him in for a kiss. "But who says that it has to be unpleasant, especially if it's only a thought? And that doesn't change the facts. Admitting that you find her sexy was a bad husband thing that you just did, right? Some would say a very bad thing. But don't worry. I'm going to give you a chance to make it up to me."

"It's funny," Chuck said. "Here you keep wanting me to ask for wild, sexy things."

"It's more ironic than funny," Sarah protested. "But as long as that's true, I told you that I would find ways to use this to my advantage. I'd suggest that you do everything in your power to grant me my erotic wish. Come on, Chuck, we both know that you don't want a cranky wife."

Naturally Chuck knew full well what Sarah had in mind, even before she started pushing his head down her body. After all, it had gotten to be almost a daily thing. "Here?" he asked in alarm. "Sarah, I'm happy to grant your wish. You know that. Can't we go to the cabin?"

Sarah just shook her head as she continued pushing his head to her desired destination.

"What part of 'you're going to pay for that' didn't you understand?

x-x-x-x-x

There was no question but that Diane Beckman was a very powerful woman. Director of the NSA wasn't quite a cabinet position. But it was maybe the most important job in the country short of that. And personally leading the battle that regained control of the missing nuclear weapon was the cherry on top of a sterling career. Never mind that it was her agent who lost the weapon in the first place. Washington was very much a 'what have you done for me lately' town. And what General Beckman had done lately was save New York from getting a very close look at a mushroom cloud and at the same time save many political careers, including the Commander in Chief's. So her power was at its absolute peak.

Beckman had been in the White House scores of times over the years spanning several administrations. She had led meetings in the Situation Room so many times it was honestly becoming routine. But the Oval Office? That was quite another matter. "You wanted to see me, Mr. President?" she asked crisply as soon as she was ushered into the room.

For his part the President's smile was genuinely warm and friendly. "Come in, Diane," he said. "Sit down. Would you like something to drink?"

And actually, a drink didn't sound bad at all. But it wasn't done. "No thank you, sir," she said, waiting for him to start the conversation. The drink could wait until she was back safely in her own office.

She didn't have to wait long. "Tell me, Diane," he said. "This Jennifer Bowles. Does she really have something? Or is she just bluffing to make a deal?"

That was the six million dollar question, wasn't it? The President was asking for her frank assessment of the situation. On the other hand, she wasn't totally sure what her frank assessment was. "It's very possible, Mr. President," Beckman said. "As a Fulcrum Elder, it's hard to guess what information she had access to. If she's right, then it's something that we simply have to deal with. If she could tell us the names of the players, we could deal with them in the background without the political firestorm. That would be worth a lot… and she'd know it. She would push for as much as she could. Then again, it's also very possible that this is a manufactured ploy… that she is throwing us a line of bull, hoping we'll make a deal. There's really only one way to find out."

The President nodded. "I'm afraid that I agree," he said. "She only will talk to Bartowski? Are we sure about that?"

"I'm afraid that's the one thing we are sure of," Beckman sighed. "We've tried every interrogation technique in our playbook. We've walked to the very edge of legality with her. She's holding firm. Mr. Bartowski and Agent Carter. They're all she'll talk to."

"Tell me, Diane," he said. "Can you talk him into helping us?"

That got a relaxed smile. "Yes, sir," Beckman said. "Chuck Bartowski will always want to do the right thing. He'll be fairly easy to convince."

"It's his wife that will be the issue."

x-x-x-x-x

Ted Roark sat in his office watching the monitor. And even though the shot was clearly from a long range lens and rather grainy, it was still fairly obvious what was happening. "She's absolutely gorgeous," he said with a sigh. "Too bad she's burnt out as an agent. We could use her skills."

"How did we get this?"

"We have a man on the island posing as a worker," Roark replied. "This was taken just a few hours ago. Tell me that you wouldn't take his spot in a heartbeat."

Nicholas Quinn sat across the desk. "Who wouldn't?" he asked. "It's the Intersect. You don't get a woman like that in that position without an Intersect."

"We're going to give you every chance to find out what an Intersect will get you," Roark said. "You've earned this, Nicholas."

"Do you think they bought it?" Quinn asked wistfully.

"Hook, line, and sinker," Roark said calmly. "That's good because that island is an absolute fucking fortress. That Colonel Casey is a freak. They actually built a navy. What private family has their own navy? We'd never get him covertly when he's there. Fortunately I had an ace in the hole. My girl played them like a violin. They are too busy looking for Volkoff to pay attention to their real threat. Beckman is on her way right now to ask him."

"Your girl?" Quinn asked with a grin. "Word on the street is she plays for the other team? In fact she'd probably want to take his place more than you or I."

That got a laugh. "You've never heard of a switch hitter?" Roark asked. "I think you misunderstand her. She'd never want to take his place. When it comes to other women, she's pretty domineering, always thinks it's better to receive than give. Besides, our relationship is perfect. She allows me other women… and I return the favor… often at the same time with the same woman. What could be better than that? Once he's away from his protection we'll grab him. The instant that we have that governor off his wrist it's game over."

Quinn stared at the monitor intently. "I'll bet that's the last time he does that for her," he said with a grin. "I predict that her sex life is about to change pretty radically. Word is that she's always begging him to get wild. Maybe our new partner can be convinced to give her that wish during his mission. I predict in the future she'll learn to be a lot more careful what she wishes for."

"Imagine," Roark agreed. "A billionaire living on a fantasy island married to the most beautiful woman in the world who makes it her mission in life to see how kinky she can get to keep him excited. He's perhaps the luckiest man in the world." Then his grin turned evil.

"I'm afraid that his luck has just run out."

x-x-x-x-x

_A/N: Yeah, I get that the astute among you will realize that this AU predates Alex's introduction and her love story with Morgan as presented on the show hasn't happened. But Alex is a key character in this story for reasons that have already been hinted at. So we'll have to assume that they met some other way. I think we can assume that the Carina/Morgan thing never happened. I mean, who bought that for a single second anyway? I think we can also assume that Casey is ever bit as protective of Alex as he was on the show. I think that maybe the Morgan/Alex story will be a little more rocky than on the show._

x-x-x-x-x


	2. The God Complex

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

_A word to the wise. There will be plenty of fluffy moments. But this story is going to start off very dark, darker than anything I've ever done, and stay there for a while. Hopefully the story will be tense and exciting. Things will look bad for a while. If you can't enjoy that sort of edgy story, there is not a thing in the world wrong with that. But please stop reading. Sending me cowardly anonymous reviews isn't going to do any good. As always, I promise only happy endings._

_Having said all that, I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

**The God Complex**

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah finally broke down and got dressed for their nightly family dinner, or as Chuck was beginning to call it 'lobster fest'… reluctantly.

"It's hard to imagine growing tired of lobster," Chuck sighed as they walked to the compound. "Maybe you could mention to Chef that you also like the occasional other main entrée. How about a nice prime rib? He's French, right? Maybe some chateaubriand."

"Hey," Sarah playfully protested. "Don't you know that much red meat is bad for your heart? Lobster is much healthier. Ask Devon. You'll get a longer explanation than you were really looking for."

"Perhaps," Chuck agreed. "The health argument almost works. Until you drown it in drawn butter like you do. I'm thinking that negates any health advantage. Ask Devon about that and suffer through the long explanation."

"I like drawn butter," Sarah pouted, again much like a five year old. "Besides, go find your own chef who worships you. Then you can dictate the menu. The fact of the matter is that I really don't want to hear it. I've forgotten how much I hate wearing a bra. And all because you don't want Morgan ogling the covered outline image of my nipples? It seems like you're asking for too much of a sacrifice. Eating some brilliantly prepared lobster based creation is probably a small price to pay."

"It's just for a little while," Chuck said soothingly. "Let's face it. He's going to see a lot more skin every place he looks than he's used to. Without a bra that shirt leaves little to the imagination. We don't want him to explode or anything the first week. Let's give him some time to get accustomed."

"Now see," Sarah said, looping her arm through his affectionately as they walked. "It's nice that you're looking out for your friend. But I say get it over with. Jump into the deep end of the pool and sink or swim. Rip that bandage off and take your pain all at once. Say the word and I'll get him alone before dinner, flash him, let him look for a few minutes, maybe spend his one time allowed quick feel, and we can banish the bras back to the bottom drawer where they belong. Trust me, all of the girls would be grateful."

"He gets a one time quick feel?" Chuck asked laughing in faux concern. "I don't remember that in the negotiations."

"I thought you knew about this," Sarah said her brow wrinkled in confusion. "Devon told me that you were on board, that it was your idea. He explained to me that we were going to be living together, not a lot of clothes were going to be worn, and that could lead to a lot of unhealthy tension. So each man would spend five minutes of mutual exploration with each woman, just to say they had done it once. Hell, even Josh and Casey were there to back him up."

Sarah paused for a moment. "I got hustled, didn't I?" she sighed. "That explains some things. Devon maybe took more advantage than he originally explained. He kinda stayed there longer than what you'd technically call a one time feel, especially after he has me naked. I would tell you that I was starting to worry it might be getting out of hand… but that would be a lie. Since I thought that you approved, I actually didn't mind all that much. I was starting to imagine what it would feel like if… well, you know. But he clearly miscalculated. Our time ran out just before I climbed on him. Casey was pounding on the door for his turn. The look of disappointment on his face… he was hard as a rock. The man has some big soft hands. And that doctor training sure didn't hurt. Ellie is sure lucky."

That turned Chuck's faux concern into genuine concern. "You mean Devon actually…" he started. Then he trailed off as he noticed the look Sarah was flashing him. "Very funny," he said. "You're going to pay for that."

"You're too easy," Sarah teased. She squeezed his arm affectionately while they walked, ignoring his threat while making absolutely no attempt to keep the smirk from her face. "When have I been out of your sight long enough for anything like that to have happened?"

Indeed, Chuck's face was already taking on a red hue. "You are going to pay," he muttered. "What has gotten into you lately? Is sex all you think about?"

"Pretty much," Sarah admitted cheerfully. "Now days I find that my mind pretty much leaps to the sexual side of any situation. For example, walking down this pier it just occurred to me that we have never had sex here. How exciting would it be if you grabbed me and used the Intersect to repeatedly ravage me right here in the full light of day?"

Sarah smiled at the look on his face. "At first I thought my obsessing about sex was just me over compensating up for the last ten years," she continued. "But it lasted far too long to be just that. It now looks like it's a lifetime thing. So I worried about it for a while. I never want you to feel like sex is the only thing we have going. I understand that you're not a machine. I love every second I'm with you, not just when we're having sex. But having said that, I eventually decided that my obsession was a good thing."

That got Chuck grinning.

"You should look at the bright side," Sarah teased. "Thanks totally to you my sex life is so great that I'm always looking for the next opportunity. And the fact is that no matter what fantasy my mind comes up with, I only actually ever have sex with you. I don't see that ever changing. You have to admit that you get some benefit from my erotic visions. I'd say roll with it."

"So," Chuck said sadly. "You admit that you have fantasies about other men?"

"Maybe," Sarah said. "I'm not sure it's fantasy to sometimes pretend that it's Casey or Josh giving me the high hard one when we're fucking, is it? I'd call that a grey area."

She saw his devastated look. "Chuck, I was just teasing you," Sarah said laughing. "Come on. You have to know that. You're worried that I think about Casey when we're fucking? Really? My dance card is pretty full."

"Okay," Chuck said.

"I love your reaction," Sarah finally said. "It proves to me that you're still a little jealous. I like that you're a little jealous. Not only is it cute, it tells me that you're not taking me for granted. I'm sorry if you took me seriously and put an unpleasant thought in your head. For the record, you always have me so on fire that I lack the mental capacity to think about anything."

Sarah paused for a moment and got her grin back. "Perhaps you're not thinking this through to its logical conclusion," she teased. "I have to say, I'm a little disappointed. It's so unlike you. This reciprocal arrangement, were we to actually formalize it, would also mean that you get five minutes feeling up Carina, Alex, Joey, Laura, and… well, Ellie if you choose. Let me know how that works out for you with Ellie."

Chuck's face was quickly even redder at her so overt teasing.

"You are so going to pay."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah were sitting in Steven and Joan's cottage. Joan had intercepted them before they were fully into the compound. One thing that had surely happened over the past couple of months… Joan no longer feared Sarah. She had honestly assimilated into the group of spies maybe even better than Ellie. She and Carina were inseparable. None of that was a surprise. The surprise was that Laura was also sitting there.

There was another thing that was clear. Of the three Bartowski girls currently on the island, Joan was the one who objected to getting dressed the most. She was constantly plainly tugging at her top trying to get comfortable. She turned to Sarah. "Can you believe we used to wear these torture devices every single day?" she grumbled.

"I know," Sarah said in a show of fraternal solidarity. "It's only for a little while."

"Come on," Joan sighed. "I mean she seems like a nice girl and everything. But Carina, hurry up and get her naked already."

"Maybe we should get started," Steven suggested gently. "Joan got a call from Diane Beckman today."

Well that got Sarah's attention in a hurry. "Really?" she asked. "That sure didn't take long. What does she want?"

"She didn't exactly say," Joan said. "Just that she wants to come here and talk to Chuck and Laura. I assume she realized that wouldn't happen without also including you. She asked for permission to land. She'll be here within the hour."

"This clearly has something to do with Jennifer Bowles," Laura said. "Why else would she only want Chuck and me?"

"It's very possible," Steven replied. "But it's really impossible to say."

"She wants them for a mission of some kind," Sarah growled. "Over my dead body."

"Or," Chuck teased. "She wants Laura again for… umm… some other reason. Maybe they're trying to tempt Bowles into making a deal of some kind. Prison can get pretty lonely. And the way I hear it, she trained our Laura here to developed some impressive oral skills. It'd be a shame to allow them to atrophy."

"Very funny," Laura growled. "Need I remind you that I was in that position because I was taking your wife's place? Maybe she would now have skills at risk of atrophy. That's happening again over my dead body. And if I remember right, she was hoping to get some first hand knowledge of Agent Carmichael's similar skills."

"I doubt that our skills are very similar," Chuck teased. "Your enthusiasm counts for a little. But it's simply a matter of my experience being too much to overcome. Sarah, back me up here."

That got Steven grinning. "I thought that might be your reactions," he said, ignoring their faux bickering. "But there is something that Beckman could do for us. Please hear me out for a second."

Sarah knew that when he put it that way, she didn't have much choice except to at least pretend to listen. "Okay," she said. "I'll listen. But I don't see Chuck going on any mission. We're retired. We've done our part and then some. It's somebody else's fight."

"Agreed," Steven said. "I doubt that even Diane Beckman would have the gall to ask Chuck or Laura to go on any covert mission, especially one that involved danger of any sort. But she does have a bargaining chip. She is a position to deliver Bryce to us."

"Great," Chuck groaned. "Bryce… my favorite topic. Why do we want Bryce Larkin's pretty boy act here in paradise?"

"Come on, Chuck," Laura said, making no effort to find that she was getting revenge for his earlier teasing. "Being a deep cover spy can get pretty lonely." She indicated Sarah with a flip of her head. "By all accounts you've created a sexual dynamo here. General speculation is that you're soon not going to be able to keep up with her. Surely you can give poor starving Bryce a loaf of bread every once in a while, right?"

"Very funny yourself," Chuck replied. "Over my dead body."

"We don't want his act here," Steven said, again ignoring Chuck and Laura's faux bickering. "Trust me son, none of us want that, me far less than the group average. But we are concerned."

"Okay," Chuck said. "I'll bite. Why are we concerned?"

"Bryce is still an Intersect," Joan said. "That makes him, present company excepted, the most powerful person in the world. We're growing more and more concerned that it might affect his personality. Psychology is not either of our professions, but based upon our computer modeling, we think there is a strong chance that he might develop a God Complex." She paused with a grin. "And don't say that we're too late," she said. "Carina already beat you to that barb."

"What exactly is a God Complex?" Sarah asked, clearly a little shaken by the entire topic.

"It's just like it sounds," Joan said. "When somebody like Bryce becomes as powerful as the Intersect makes him… well, he could come to think of himself as a God. He would come to believe that anything he wanted, he deserved. As an Intersect, he's in a position to take most anything he wants. Nobody could hope to fight him. We know that Bryce's main goal is to get laid. Any mortal who got in his way… well, they would suffer his wrath. There have already been a couple of unfortunate incidents of people getting in his way."

"I can see where this is going," Chuck said immediately. "He wants Sarah. Is she in danger?"

Joan reached out and touched Chuck's arm affectionately. "We don't think so," she said. "I mean even Bryce Larkin as a God has to realize by now that Sarah is off limits to him. She's made that abundantly clear. If he faced you, he would decidedly lose. He knows that."

"Sarah is probably the one that is safe," Steven added. "He might still feel that Joan or Ellie owe him something. But you have to admit, there is really no way of knowing for sure what he's capable of. We're all a lot safer if we just extract it."

"Beckman is going to allow you to take away her power weapon?" Laura asked. "That doesn't sound like her."

"We're not exactly going to ask," Steven said with a grin. "We're just going to ask her to deliver him to run some tests. It'll be done before she finds out. But once she listens to our reasons… He's already stolen a nuclear weapon. I think she'll reluctantly agree that it's better for everyone that we extracted it."

"You can extract the Intersect?" Sarah asked anxiously.

"We can't right now," Steven said. "But we've been working hard on it. That's why you've seen so little of us lately."

"Like that's the only reason," Laura teased, her grin on full power.

"Our current estimate is that we'll be able to safely extract it within a month or so," Joan said, again ignoring Laura's shot and the red that was currently rising up her neck. "When we're ready we'd like for Beckman to deliver him here. That's why we'd like you to bargain with her. Maybe if what she wants Chuck and Laura to do isn't too outrageous, we can make a deal."

"Are you going to extract the Intersect from me?" Chuck asked. "Do you think that I might develop a God Complex?"

That got the room laughing. "I'm sorry, Chuck," Joan said. "We're not laughing at you. Consider it a compliment. It's pretty unlikely that you would ever think of yourself as a God, isn't it? If you and Sarah decide that you want to extract it, we can do that. But the update we gave you last week was designed to relieve a lot of the strain on your brain. We think that you could safely keep the Intersect forever, as long as you wear the governor from time to time."

x-x-x-x-x

Normally the pure joy of flying this multi-million dollar amazing feat of engineering would have Sarah in a good mood, no matter what the circumstances.

Not today.

Chuck reached over from where he was sitting in the copilot's seat and grabbed her arm. "Would you relax?" he asked.

When Sarah turned to face him her gaze wasn't exactly angry… but it wasn't exactly relaxed either. "This is a mission," she said. "Need I have to remind you that I'm against this? We're retired. Besides how long have you known me? Have you ever seen me relax on a mission?"

Chuck knew that he had to tread lightly here. Agreeing to treat this as a mission was Sarah's demand to allow this in the first place. "Come on," he said. "Even you would have to admit that this is a fairly tame mission. We're just going to talk to her for a few minutes, find out what she knows and what she wants, and fly back home."

"You don't know me at all, do you?" Sarah asked rhetorically. "There is no such thing as a tame mission. I don't like the smell of this at all. We have to take this seriously and protect ourselves against any possible threat. Exactly how many times do I have to shout that at you before it finally penetrates that thick skull of yours? You don't respect the mission. You never have. Here, put this in your pocket."

"Okay," Chuck said. He took the recording device that was designed to look like an ink pen and put it in his pocket. "I'm not sure why you want to listen to what she has to say. But no matter, I promised you that I would take this seriously… and I will. Even you have to admit, we're probably not in any danger up here in the jet. I know what this is. You're upset at losing two different bets with me. Besides the teasing on the dock last night. Remember when I said that you're going to pay? You're sitting there all worried about what tasks I'm going to give you to pay off."

Sarah didn't normally mind losing bets with Chuck. In fact she often proposed taking the long shot just to see what he would come up with. It was always pretty vanilla. Not that vanilla sex with Chuck wasn't great. It was fantastic. But she also wouldn't mind him pressing the envelope a little sometimes. Last night was different. She fully expected to win. She had some definite plans for the double dip winning tasks she was going to assign him. She even technically cheated a little when she overheard Carina and Joey taking about the plan to tag team Alex into peer pressure and alcohol induced toplessness. The news from Beckman put a damper on that whole night, including the conspiracy to corrupt Alex. It was simply another reason Sarah had come to loathe the General. In any event, Chuck teasing Sarah about sex was dropping the big one and they both knew it. Indeed, her smile wasn't exactly a toothy grin, but it was there. "You're all talk," she taunted.

"We're already members of the Mile High Club," Chuck said, stroking his chin in faux thought. "So there's nothing unusual there. But that was with the autopilot on. It probably doesn't count as flying. And you do appear to be challenging me here. So you've never landed the jet naked. That might be an exciting first."

Sarah glanced back into the cabin at Laura. She was softly snoring. Not that it was unusual in any way. Laura could sleep anywhere. They teased her about it constantly. It was one of those spy skills that often came in mighty handy. And he was right about the Mile High Club. In fact their first flight together after he presented her with the amazing gift of a private jet was perhaps their hottest sex ever. But Laura would surely wake when they landed. Was he really suggesting…

"You're the one who keeps bragging that you don't care who sees you naked," Chuck suggested playfully, ending her speculation. "Surely Laura isn't going to be an issue, right? A word to the wise. As part of my bet winnings I'm going to give you some tasks that you may want to complete before she wakes up… sort of an in flight checklist. Of course you may well decide that Laura needs a show. They're both good arguments… totally your call. I've always wondered why they call this a cockpit. Let's find out."

Okay, so Chuck Bartowski was a world class expert at getting Sarah to laugh, no matter how tense the situation. And that definitely did the trick. Besides the fact that the idea of Chuck suggesting something wild instantly had her motor revving. Maybe this wasn't all that wild by spy standards… yet anyway. But it was a good start.

And Laura could care less if she was naked. It did make some sense to get whatever tasks he was going to assign out of the way before she woke up. Again, Laura could care less if they had sex in front of her. She'd probably take notes and write a summary for the mission report. And Chuck would never suggest going that far anyway… would he? But Laura would surely use anything she witnessed here today to tease her unmercifully. Waking up and finding a nude Sarah landing the plane was already ammunition enough. Then she would tell Casey every detail, perhaps with a reenactment thrown in for good measure, and the teasing would be magnified tenfold. Who needs that?

So Sarah clicked on the autopilot, unfastened her seat belt and got out of her seat to stand and face him as she began to unbutton her blouse. "I have no idea why it's called a cockpit," she said as she allowed it to slide to the deck.

"Fair enough," Chuck said as he waived for her to continue.

"I do have a theory or two that I'd like to explore."

x-x-x-x-x

When they got to the hotel Laura was still shaking her head grinning at the scene that faced her when she woke. "You guys are out of control," she said, making to attempt to keep from laughing. "I mean, nobody has more respect for the beauty of pushing the outside of the sexual envelope than I do. But really, Chuck? You're bashful about these things. What has gotten into you?"

Laura's teasing fell on deaf ears. Whatever sexy playfulness Sarah was feeling in the jet was now long gone and she was fully back in tense mission mode. "I don't like this," she said, ignoring Laura's teasing. "Why does she insist to meet here at a hotel? Why would Beckman ever agree to it? Why not in prison? This just doesn't smell right."

"She's just pushing," Laura said, fully recognizing the Agent Walker zero tolerance for any foolishness when she felt uneasy about something. And she almost always had good reason. Her spy instincts were second to none. Laura had learned long ago to just shut up and follow her lead. "You know Bowles. This is her style. She is simply seeing how far they will go to make her happy. And if she's right, they are going to be willing to go quite far. They took her to England, remember? This is actually pretty tame."

"I wouldn't worry," Chuck said. "It may not be prison, but I'll bet that security is still pretty tight."

Indeed, Beckman was clearly taking no chances. There were multiple checkpoints before they even got close to the hotel. When they were finally allowed into the specified room, they were met by a bevy of armed guards who doubled checked their IDs, frisked them, and relieved them of their weapons.

"I'm not going in," Sarah protested. "So there's no reason to surrender my weapon. I'd like it back."

Sarah knew that something was seriously wrong the instant she saw Chuck flash on the leader. He had quickly disabled three men before he slumped to the floor. Sarah wasn't giving up without a fight. But without a weapon, it was pretty hopeless. She tried to throw a kick but it was too late. Sarah looked in horror as the dart stuck out of her chest. Laura was already unconscious on the floor. As darkness consumed her she could hear the leader's sinister laugh.

"That was too easy."

x-x-x-x-x


	3. Agent Carmichael

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

_A word to the wise. This will be the first of a couple of really dark chapters. If you can make it through this, things will get better. But much like the show's finale it's going to get pretty rough from a Charah POV. As always, I promise only happy endings._

_I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

**Agent Carmichael**

x-x-x-x-x

Almost the very instant Chuck regained consciousness from the drug, he flashed on the man in front of him. The Intersect quickly checked the security of his bindings and just as quickly came to the only possible conclusion. He was totally secured with no hope of escape. Even worse, he could see his governor lying on the table next to him… which meant it was no longer on his wrist.

"Mr. Bartowski," the man said with a smirk. "My name is Nicholas Quinn. But you already know that right?" He followed Chuck's eyes to the table. "Don't worry," he said. "We're going to give it right back."

"Where's Sarah?" Chuck growled. "If you touch a single hair on her head…"

"Don't worry about Agent Walker," Quinn said. "We have no interest in her. She'll be free to live the rest of her life in paradise. It's you that we're interested in. How about we make a little deal?"

"What kind of deal?" Chuck asked.

Quinn held up a flash card. Chuck writhed in agony for a long moment before lapsing back into unconsciousness.

"A most generous one," Quinn said smugly, knowing full well that Chuck couldn't hear him. "We let Agent Walker go."

"In return you become our powerful soldier and get us the big prize that we want."

x-x-x-x-x

"I want to kill her," Bowles said. "As slowly as possible and definitely most painfully. I owe that bitch."

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Quinn said soothingly. "We've spent the last six months getting into this position. For right now, we still need the people on the island in the dark for this to work. You'll get your shot at her someday. Once I'm an Intersect, I promise I'll make it a top priority to find a way to deliver her to you."

"We've spent a hell of a lot more than that," Bowles said, indicating Chuck who was just starting to stir on the couch next to her. "We sacrificed Volkoff and his twenty billion dollars to set this all up. How exactly does this thing in his head work? I'm a little fuzzy on the details. How much will he remember?"

"He'll remember most everything," Quinn said. "It will just be through the prism of the things we've planted. He'll know that he's Fulcrum Agent Charles Carmichael. He's totally devoted to serve the Elder, Jennifer Bowles whom he honestly loves from afar. He'll gladly do anything she asked, including laying down his life for her. His mission for the past two years has been to infiltrate the team working on the Intersect. As it turns out, he's the very best. He successfully seduced and married his ex-handler, Agent Sarah Walker. That's most impressive considering that she was widely suspected of not liking men all that much. He's also got every single person on that island willing to do pretty much anything he'd ask. Some of his memories will be a little fuzzy. He knows that he's an Intersect, but he won't remember any details of how. He won't remember that his father and sister are there, they will just be the team working on the Intersect. He'll know that the Agents on the island are assigned there to protect the Intersect team. If they get in his way, he's authorized to eliminate them as long as he doesn't blow his cover."

"What about Grimes and his girlfriend?" Bowles asked.

"They may become an issue," Quinn admitted. "We really didn't plan on them being on the island. It was a late development. We had to react pretty quickly to account for them. He'll have no knowledge of his relationship with Grimes. He's been warned to be very suspicious of them as possible unknown agents. Again, he's authorized to eliminate them if he can avoid blowing his cover."

Quinn paused for a moment. "Ma'am," he said. "I fully understand what you sacrificed to get this for me. I'll never forget it. Trust me. We're going to get that money back someday. Besides, twenty billion dollars is a drop in the bucket compared to what I'm going to present you with once I'm an Intersect. You'll be queen of the most powerful organization in the world. You'll be worshiped by far more than simply Agent Carmichael and me."

Bowles smiled as she watched Chuck begin to stir. "I rather enjoy being worshiped," she said.

Bowles waited until Chuck's eyes opened. "Agent Carmichael," she said as she sided into him affectionately. "Do you remember me?"

"Of course, ma'am," Chuck said. "How could I possibly forget you?"

Bowles threw her arms around him. "Thank you for rescuing me," she said. "It was very brave. I'll never forget it. I'm sorry that we had to tranq you. We didn't want to blow your cover."

"Ma'am," Chuck said. "Please don't thank me. I just did my duty. I'm sorry that it took so long. Where are Agents Walker and Carter now?"

"They're secured," Bowles said. "Waiting for you to rescue them, just like the plan."

"You do understand your final mission?" Quinn asked.

"Yes, sir," Chuck said. "I'll obtain the Intersect glasses using any means necessary, radio the code when I have them, and rendezvous with the ship. Then my mission will be over?"

"Absolutely," Quinn said. "I promise you a long break before your next assignment. You've certainly earned it."

Bowles turned to Quinn. "Could I have a moment to speak to Agent Carmichael in private?"

It really wasn't a question. "Yes, ma'am," Quinn said as he made a hasty retreat.

As soon as he left the room Bowles slid over to side affectionately into Chuck. "You've been brilliant," she sighed. "It's as professional of an assignment as I've ever seen. You've done so well that I hesitate to ask you this additional favor. It's more personal in nature."

"Why would you hesitate, ma'am?" Chuck asked. "You know that I would walk through fire to do anything you asked. What do you want me to do?"

Suddenly Bowles was kissing him. "I've really missed you," she sighed between ever increasingly intense kisses. "I got through this ordeal by imagining this moment." As their tongues danced, Bowles hand drifted up his leg. Chuck's hand instinctively went to stop her. "Agent Carmichael," she scolded. "You know our relationship better than that. Take your hand away right now."

"I'm sorry," she finally said as she broke the latest kiss. "I shouldn't have done that to you. I'm seriously not trying to be a tease. I just couldn't help myself. I'm afraid we don't have the time right now to do this right. It'll have to wait until you complete your mission."

Agent Carmichael nodded as the red drifted up his neck.

Bowles smile turned sly. "How about we make this interesting?" she asked. "Agent Walker… I'm really trying hard not to be jealous. I get that she's beautiful."

"There's no reason to be jealous," he said. "It's an assignment."

"I know," Bowles sighed as she continued rubbing his… umm… leg. "It's just that I really hate that bitch. She is my nemesis. Naturally, the mission is your top priority. But if you could figure out a way to cause her some real pain in your last few days together without blowing your cover… Well let's call this a small down payment of the reward I'm prepared to offer you."

That got them both grinning. "Yes, ma'am," Chuck said. "For as tough as she appears, she's actually very vulnerable. I know just what to do to cause her some serious emotional pain that she may never recover from. She herself set the plan of her own degradation in motion. Trust me. I'm looking forward to it."

"Perhaps some evidence of that degradation would be in order," she said as they shared a laugh. "Some compromising pictures, maybe even a video clip or two. We have a man on the island who would be happy to assist."

"Yes, ma'am," Chuck said. "Don't worry."

"I'm going to give her exactly what she asks for."

x-x-x-x-x

Laura woke up to Sarah not so gently slapping her face. They were lying on the floor unsecured alone in a small room. "Where are we?" she moaned as Sarah helped her to her feet while she attempted to shake the cobwebs out.

"I have no idea," Sarah replied, clearly close to panic. "What have they done to Chuck?"

Laura tried the only door but it was locked tight. She knew that the first thing was to settle Sarah down. The only way out of this mess was cool, rational spy thinking. Panic got you killed. "I don't know," she said. 'Let's calm down and think through our options."

Fortunately they didn't get that far. Suddenly the door came crashing in, courtesy of a tremendous Intersect kick. "Good," Chuck said as he entered the room and quickly looked around. "You're awake. Are you both okay?"

"Yes," Sarah answered for both. "Chuck, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure," Chuck said. "This was clearly well planned. They had some inside people. I'm guessing Volkoff's men. They took Bowles. I was able to get the jump on them and downed my ten guards. That's all I know."

"Well," Laura said. "Let's get the fuck out of here and figure it out later."

That actually got something of a grin from Chuck.

"My thoughts exactly."

x-x-x-x-x

The hotel was pure chaos. The ambush attack was clearly well planned and flawlessly executed by a large force. Friendly agents were lying unconscious everywhere you looked. As soon as they were in the car, Sarah picked up her cell phone and called Beckman.

It wasn't a pleasant chat between old friends.

Sarah called her every curse word imaginable… and some you couldn't imagine. Beckman was busy. She was trying to deal with this devastating defeat. But to her credit she listened patiently as Sarah spent the entire ten minute drive to the plane assuring her, in incredibly vivid detail, what was going to happen if she were to ever again to set as much as a big toe on their island. And Sarah didn't stop her screaming rant until they were actually inside the plane.

Agent Carmichael sat silently and listened to her rant as he thought about his assignment. Things had just gotten a little more complicated. Naturally getting the Intersect glasses was the top priority. But Bowles wanted Walker humiliated and broken. Fortunately the path to do that was fairly straight forward. She would clearly do anything he asked. It was part of her control mission to beg him for kinky things. He'd resisted that until now. So he'd have to go a little slow to not get her suspicious. But soon he'd have her in positions she wasn't accustomed too.

Chuck finally gently took the phone from her hand and ended the call. "Will you please calm down?" he asked. "Whatever their plan was, we're safe now."

Sarah looked at her husband… and collapsed into his arms in relief. "Okay," she said. "But, Chuck, please, no more of these missions. Finding Bowles, finding Volkoff, that's someone else's problem. We're retired. Agreed? Let me get us in the air."

"Agreed," Chuck said, the sparkle in his eyes fairly plain. "But I think you've forgotten an important first step."

"Forgotten?" Sarah asked in confusion. "What first step?"

"You're flying this trip naked," Chuck said, his grin full bore. "Remember our bet? And that was before I saved your life… again. Try and put on more of a show this time. Surely you can do better at entertaining us if you put your mind to it. Agent Carter wants to see a sexy performance. She knows very well what you can come up, right, Laura? How long has it been since you've seen her strip?"

At this point, you could have knocked Laura over with a feather. All she could do is stare at them in confusion.

Chuck calmly took an open seat in the cabin and playfully pulled Laura into his lap. "Come on," he said. "You keep begging me to ask for things. Hurry up. Then it will be Agent Carter's turn. She also has a reputation for knowing how to properly set the sexy mood. This might be quite the competition. I'll be the judge. Best performance wins a prize. Given the nature of the prize, I'd suggest you make every effort to win."

That broke the tension they all were feeling from before and turned it into… well, giddiness. Sarah started laughing. She had to admit, he had something of a point. "Okay," she said as she began swaying to some imaginary music and unbuttoned her blouse. "A bet is a bet." She turned to Laura. "How about a side bet? What do you want to bet that I win?"

Laura's eyes were as big as saucers as she watched one after another of Sarah's clothes hit the floor. "Do you really expect me to strip for you?" she asked.

"Strip is far to tame of a word," Chuck said. "Anybody can take off their clothes. I expect an erotic performance. Arouse us. Use your imagination and training."

Laura turned to Sarah who was now mostly naked. "You're seriously okay with this?"

"I pretty much have to be," Sarah said still laughing. "I'm frankly surprised. But ultimately Chuck's right. I'm always on him to think of wild things to ask for. And honestly, on the wild meter this isn't really that far out there. He's already seen you naked. I mean who hasn't? Even you'd have to agree that he just saved our lives for the umpteenth time. That deserves a reward. Besides, who are we kidding? You're really going to sit there and let me win a contest over you without giving it your best shot? Who are you and what have you done with Laura?"

That did the trick and got Laura laughing. "Now that is a good point," she said as she stood from his lap and began to sway herself.

"Not bad," Chuck said approvingly as soon as Laura's last item hit the floor. "I'd call it a draw. Too bad that I really only have one prize." He turned to Sarah. "Get us up in the air," he said. "As soon as the autopilot is on come back here."

"I'll explain the tiebreaker rules."

x-x-x-x-x

At first Casey didn't believe her. "Yeah, right," he said dismissively. "I admire the effort. But if you're going to make up a bullshit story to get me worked up, please make it at least a little believable."

"I'm telling you," Laura said. "I don't blame you for not believing it. I was there and I'm not sure I believe it. But it happened just as I said."

Her tone actually made him sit up and take notice. "Chuck Bartowski actually had sex?" he asked incredulously. "With Sarah? In a moving airplane? While you watched?"

"It was her prize," Laura said giggling. "It was like one of those out of body things. I was watching it happen yet I couldn't believe it. It was actually quite impressive."

"Did you fuck them?" Casey asked.

Laura could help but grin at his awkwardness talking about the subject. By mutual agreement, jealousy wasn't an emotion that was allowed between them. But realistically that maybe wasn't going to be totally practical very long… for either of them. "No," she said. "He didn't touch me. He never asked me to do anything except strip and put on a sexy show with my finger. It was his tiebreaker. It really wasn't fair. Sarah has much more experience using her finger."

That got Casey laughing. "I'll bet," he said.

"I have to admit," Laura said. "I was getting myself pretty worked up on that chair… you know how much I hate to lose… but nothing like Sarah. She was a firecracker, more excited than I've ever seen her. That was clearly his plan. And that was before I saw them going at it. It was the hottest thing I've even seen. They are pretty amazing together. I kept expecting him to have me join in. I'm honestly not sure what I would have done if he had. I'm not sure why I stopped with the finger thing. It just seemed weird. But I probably could have finished. After a while I think they both kinda forgot I was there. He had her in every position you can think of. He may be a nerd, but he sure knows how to push her buttons. She was moaning so hard that I think she forgot where she was."

"Wow," Casey said, shaking his head. "What has gotten into him? I'm not sure if I should be jealous, nauseous, or impressed as hell."

"I'd go with impressed as hell," Laura said. "I think you're overlooking something," she said as her grin turned evil. "Fairness dictates that you're now owed one sexy show from yours truly and the lovely Agent Walker. Maybe we can even find a way to up the ante a bit. It would serve him right. He has to realize the hot fire he is casually playing with. Please don't try and deny that is something you might enjoy. Say the word and I'll make that happen."

Laura laughed at the red quickly into his face. "I'm not sure what has gotten into him," she said, more to let him off the hook than anything. "What I do know is that we have to get down to the meeting room to debrief with the team about what happened."

"I'll put our defensive forces on full alert until we figure out what the potential threat is," Casey said. "There's no sense in taking chances."

"Good idea," Laura said. "But first you have to take care of me."

"Take care of you?" Casey asked, clearly confused.

"Hello?" Laura teased. "What part of 'hottest thing I've ever seen' didn't you understand? I told you that I stopped short. I'm on fire. I need you to take care of me."

"It's gotta be quick."

x-x-x-x-x

As soon as Chuck and Sarah were safely back on the Enforcer she turned to him with a grin. "You surprised me today on the plane," she said. "I know exactly what you were doing."

Chuck returned her grin. "That's good," he teased. "Since we've done that about a million times in the past six months, I'm glad that you've finally figured it out. What finally triggered the epiphany?"

That got Sarah laughing. "Not that, stupid," she said. "I figured out our sex thing a long time ago. I'm talking about the thing with Laura. You knew I was freaked out about being captured and you came up with something wild to calm me down. Thank you, sweetie."

"You were a wild thing," Chuck continued teasing. "Admit it. You enjoyed fucking in front of Laura. You were on fire. We'll have to invite her over more often."

"What I enjoyed," Sarah protested. "What got me on fire was that I was doing something for you. That you went out of your comfort zone to give me a wild experience. Thank you. Laura was just as on fire. I'm not sure that she has blinked yet. I'd bet anything you want that she is riding Casey like a Brahma Bull as we speak."

Chuck's grin quickly faded. "Can we change the subject?"

Sarah was surprised at his suddenly serious tone. "Of course," she said. "What's bothering you?"

"You keep encouraging me to think of wild things," Chuck said. "I want to give you what you want. But let's face it. Today was pretty tame. Tell me the honest truth. Where is the line that would affect our relationship if I crossed it?"

Sarah was honestly stunned. She looked at him for a long, long time. "There isn't a line," she finally said softly. "At least if there is, it's so far out there, I can't imagine you ever asking for it. I'd probably object to a satanic sex ritual where we sacrificed a virgin. Putting on an exhibition with a Shetland pony is also probably out. But short of those things, don't worry."

"And that's something that you really want?" Chuck asked gently.

"Absolutely," Sarah said. "I've been trying to tell you that for months. You spend every waking minute taking care of my needs… making me feel like a princess. If there is some play fantasy that would make you happy, I'd love the chance to make it come true for you. Why don't you believe that?"

"Come on, Sarah," Chuck scoffed. "Of course there is a line, things that you don't want to do. What if I asked you to seduce Bryce and give him a couple of hours of anything he asked for while I hid watching?"

"You really are getting good at pushing my buttons," Sarah admitted with a grin. "And you know it, don't you? Okay, yes, that idea would be a worst case for me, not quite into Shetland pony territory, but still icky. I wouldn't look forward to it, and not just the sex part. Bryce would misinterpret it as me having latent feelings and we'd be right back to where we were a few months ago of him plotting ways to get the other things he's always wanted. It would surprise me a lot if you asked for that. It sounds exactly like the things he kept asking for. In fact I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. But listen to me. It wouldn't be over any line. If you honestly wanted that, I'd do it. We'd have some very hot times planning it. I'd even make myself get into it. Because I'd know I was doing it for you. I know exactly what Bryce would ask for. I'd give Agent Larkin the blowjob of his life. Frankly he'd be stunned by my enthusiasm. I'd hit my knees and put on the wildest performance to make it as exciting for you as I possibly could."

"Wow," Chuck grinned. "Now you're tempting me to make you prove that. If it wasn't so awful to contemplate, I might."

"It's a test I would pass," Sarah said confidently. "Can we please stop dancing around this? You clearly have some things in mind. Stop worrying about any line and tell me what would excite you. No matter what it is, you're going to get my very best effort to make it happen. It would honestly excite me more. Try me?"

"Well, if the Shetland pony is out, you're always talking about using the Intersect to ravage you," Chuck said. "Is that what you really want?"

"You're joking, right?" Sarah asked. "That doesn't even count. I've been begging for that since you uploaded the damn thing."

"It's not going to be gentle," Chuck warned.

"What do you think that ravage means exactly?" Sarah teased. "Of course it's not going to be gentle. Expect me to put up a serious fight. The Intersect is going to force me to submit to its will. It's going to be amazing. Do it in French. That would be perfect."

"I want a threesome," Chuck blurted out.

For the first time, Sarah was beginning to get an uneasy feeling. She just stared at him.

"See," Chuck said angrily. "You're so full of crap. Like I've never seen that look. You say that there isn't a line. I knew this was a bullshit trap."

"There isn't a line," Sarah insisted. "And it certainly isn't a trap. Anything means anything. I didn't say I wouldn't do it. I'm just surprised. Chuck, surely you can forgive me for being surprised, for wondering where this is coming from. It's not like you. I'd like to point out that you just had Laura and I in a position to do anything you asked just a few hours ago. Trust me, I know her. She had herself at the edge, was silently praying that you'd make her participate. She has a certain skill that she's very proud of. If you wanted an oral threesome competition why didn't you go for it then?"

"Not Laura," Chuck said. "She's too easy."

"I could talk Carina into it," Sarah suggested. "She's probably the most experienced person I know when it comes to that sort of thing. And hell, talk about willing. She'd think I was doing her the favor. The girl has been trying to get me in that position for ten years now."

"Carina?" Chuck scoffed. "Please. I said that Laura was too easy. Joey's out too. It can't be one of the spies."

"Good," Sarah said. "Josh and Joey may seem to have the spy mentality about sex. But that changed once they got together. They are too new of a couple and both very possessive."

"Come on," Chuck said. "She worships you. If you suggested it, her panties would be on the floor in a heartbeat. She'd explain it to Josh later."

"That's probably true," Sarah admitted. "For the record, she worships you every bit as much. Josh does too in his own way. Still, taking Joey to bed would cause a strain. They would never say anything. But it would be awkward. Do you have someone else in mind?"

"Alex," Chuck said. "I want it to be Alex."

Now Sarah's uneasy feeling escalated into full blown concern and she paused for a long moment. "Is that a good idea?" she finally asked softly.

"You're saying no?" Chuck asked. "Let's face it. You're jealous."

"Okay," Sarah said with a sigh. "I'm a little jealous. Alex is probably a worst case for me. You've already admitted being attracted to her. But I guess that's sort of the point, right? And that's not my main concern. I'm not saying no. But let's think about this. Can't we find some other busty sexy dark haired stranger for you to be attracted to? I doubt that Alex would be agreeable to what you're suggesting."

"I'm sure she wouldn't," Chuck said. "Not at first anyway. She'll have to be talked into it. The conquest angle is a big part of what makes it so exciting."

"This could really cause some hard feelings in the family," Sarah protested. "Not only with Morgan, think about Casey. How are you going to talk her into it?"

Agent Carmichael had to force himself to keep from laughing. This Alex was clearly an agent. The idea of her being this sweet and innocent thing was particularly silly. "Who said that I'm going to talk her into it?" he asked evilly. "That's going to be your job." Then he saw the look of devastation. "Sarah, I'm kidding," he said laughing. "You have tons of skills but I don't think seducing Alex would be one of them. Come on. You may no longer be a spy but where's your sense of adventure? I have a plan. I just need to know that you'll do your part when it's time."

"Chuck," Sarah said warningly. "Your plan to seduce Alex doesn't include you having sex of any kind with her without me, right? That _**would**_ make me jealous. If you want to have this honest talk about a line… that would cross a serious one."

Chuck put the hurt look on his face. "Let's forget this," he said sadly. "It was a bad idea. Is this really how much you trust me? You keep telling me that this is what you want. I'm trying to make this exciting for you and give you a new experience, not make you jealous. This whole wild thing was your idea. I thought you'd be so excited talking about this that your panties might spontaneously combust. I'm surprised you're not already naked."

Agent Carmichael had just dropped the big one, and he knew it. The past eighteen months had taught him exactly where her buttons were. Laying a guilt trip on Sarah about trust was more than a little manipulative. It was hitting below the belt.

"I'm sorry," Sarah said. "I shouldn't have said that. Of course I trust you. Is this what you really want?"

Chuck smiled the smile of victory. "Two beautiful, sexy women," he said. "All for me? Doing anything I say? Who wouldn't want that?"

"Then I'm in," Sarah said. "I'm not sure how your plan is going to work. But I'm never sure how your plans are going to work. And they always do. I'm going to jump in the shower real quick before the debriefing. Thanks to your wild airplane ride, I'm suddenly all sweaty."

"I'll meet you over there," Chuck said. "What happened today doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? There are some things I want to research."

Agent Carmichael waited until she was in the bathroom before allowing his smirk to turn evil. He was clearly quite pleased with himself. He had just turned Agent Walker's own dedication against her. And this was just a first step down the abject humiliation road. Bowles would be pleased. "I do believe I'm going to be owed a substantial reward," he said. "That was almost too easy."

Suddenly Sarah came flying out of the bathroom and threw her arms around him with a huge kiss. "Sweetie," she said. "I'm sorry that I was sending you mixed signals before. I know that I've been kind of schizophrenic about this. It's just… look. I'm kinda messed up. I don't think that's any surprise to anybody. The truth is that now that we're out of the spy life I'm pretty much a fish out of water. I feel inadequate when it comes to you. I just do. You're such a good guy. You're perfect, almost too good to be true. The honest truth is that I'm getting ten times more out of us than you are. I get that. I feel guilty about it. It even panics me a little. So I want to make sure I go the extra mile to give you everything that you need to be happy. And yes, I use sex a lot to tell you how I feel when I should use words. I'm sorry, I'm trying my best but words are not my strength."

Sarah paused for a moment to gather her composure. "I know that you don't expect kinky sex fantasies from me," she continued. "In fact, the very thought makes you uncomfortable. That's part of what makes you perfect. But that just makes me need to do it all that much more. So you've really helped me today. This is exactly what I've been begging you for. Setting aside your discomfort for me is just another reason why you're perfect."

Sarah paused for a moment to grin. "I've never done anything like this," she said. "I would never think of doing it on my own. The truth is, I'm not even sure what exactly to do with Alex. I seriously doubt that she has any more experience at this than I do. But I have to admit, it's exciting knowing that I'm doing something sexy for you, seeing what tasks you're going to come up with for me. When the time comes I think you'll see my panties spontaneously combust… more than once. In the unlikely event that I was wearing panties at the time anyway. So whatever you need from me to make your plan work… I'm fully on board. I'm looking forward to it."

Sarah planted another huge kiss on him. "I'll see you in the meeting," she said. "I love you." And without waiting for a response, she disappeared back into the bathroom as quickly as she came.

Agent Carmichael turned to leave. Something definitely wasn't right here. But somehow he couldn't get his brain to figure out what that was. All he did know was that suddenly he wasn't nearly as pleased with himself.

But he still had a job to do.

x-x-x-x-x


	4. The Plan

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

_A word to the wise. We're in the middle of a couple of really dark chapters. If you can make it through this, things will get better. But it's going to get pretty rough from a Charah POV. As always, I promise only happy endings._

_I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

**The Plan**

x-x-x-x-x

Joan and Chuck walked along the pure white beach. "Thanks for meeting me out here," he said. "Are you sure he doesn't know?"

"Are you kidding?" Joan asked sarcastically. "Ever since you called, he's had his nose in that damn computer trying to figure out what happened."

"It doesn't make sense," Chuck said. "Volkoff doesn't have the resources to pull off this massive of an operation. And even if he did, he surely wouldn't go to all this trouble to rescue Bowles. He sacrificed her too easily."

"And why would he want Laura anyway?" Joan agreed. "I don't think he knows her name. It's Sarah that he has the beef with."

"I have a theory," Chuck said. "Let me ask you a question. Back in Washington you said that if I were to ever face Bryce, I'd win."

"Oh my God," Joan said as the color left her face. "You suspect Bryce?"

"No," Chuck quickly assured her. "I didn't mean that. But if I'd win against Bryce, would that also apply to some other person who uploaded the Intersect?"

"Absolutely," Joan said confidently. "There is no question about it. The Intersect design was patterned after the Bartowski brain. In theory, if Ellie uploaded it, she might have a chance against you. But nobody else would. You'd be a full beat ahead of anybody no matter what they tried. Why do you ask?"

"I need a big favor," Chuck said, ignoring her question and the urge to ask what she was talking about with Ellie. "Can you get me a pair of loaded glasses? Without anybody knowing?"

"Not even Steven?" Joan asked. "Why?"

"Not even Steven," Chuck said. "I can't tell you why. I know what I'm doing. I'm just asking that you trust me."

"Wow," Joan sighed. "Chuck, I trust you. But that would be incredibly dangerous. Does Sarah know about this?"

"Joan," Chuck sighed. "With all due respect, are you really presuming to lecture me on the dangers of the Intersect? I've lived that danger for two years. Sarah is the last person who can know about this. She's panicked and not thinking clearly. She'd put herself in peril trying to stop me. I can't have that. That's why I'm coming to you."

"Chuck," Joan said pensively. "I really don't feel comfortable doing this."

"What's the problem?" Agent Carmichael asked sarcastically. "You gave them to Bryce and all he had to do was fuck you once. Is that what it's going to take? I gotta tell you, I don't think I have a condom on me."

Suddenly he was feeling his face. Of course the Intersect could have easily avoided the stinging slap. "I must have hit a nerve," he said.

Joan was crestfallen. "I'm sorry that I hit you," she said.

"I deserved to be hit," he said. "It was a lousy thing to say. I'm sorry."

"How quickly do you need them?" Joan asked softly. "It's going to take me a couple of days to keep it hidden from Steven."

Agent Carmichael had struck gold again. Joan might be brilliant, but she was just played like a violin. He pulled her in for an embrace. "I knew that I could count on you," he said. "Two days would be fine. You're doing the right thing."

Joan pulled away and looked at him closely.

"I hope so."

x-x-x-x-x

The meeting was an absolute bust. Steven was almost certain that this couldn't have possibly been Volkoff. But that left who exactly? Nobody had a clue and the meeting broke up quickly out of frustration. Sarah was so depressed that she left for the Enforcer while Chuck was still going over their defense details with Casey and Laura. Josh and Joey also stayed for the conversation.

So when she saw Chuck walking up the gangway, she was surprised that he was accompanied by a man carrying a case. She thought that maybe she recognized him as one of the workers.

Chuck quickly made the introductions. "This is Carlos," he said.

Sarah had no reason not to be pleasant. So she smiled and stuck out her hand. "It's nice to meet you Carlos," she said.

"Es un honor conocerte, la señora Bartowki," Carlos said as he shook her hand warmly.

That got Sarah smiling ever brighter. "Por favor, llámame Sarah," she said.

"Okay, Sarah," Carlos said with a heavy accent. He turned to Chuck. "You're right," he said. "She is the most beautiful woman in the world."

"I told you," Chuck said. "Wait until you see her pose. You can set up out here on the deck."

Sarah looked at the twinkle in her husband's eyes. "What's going on?" she asked.

"It turns out that Carlos is an amateur photographer," Chuck said with a grin. "Luckily Joey asked him to take some pictures of the island to send to Josh's dad. So he has his equipment."

Sarah pretty much already knew… but she asked anyway. "What's he going to take pictures of?" she asked.

"You," Chuck replied with his grin now on full power. "Let's face it. You're so tense today. I need to do something for you to get your mind off things. So Carlos has agreed to shoot the centerfold pictures that we talked about yesterday. He's going to do it for free. We won't publish them. They will just be for me… oh, and Carlos, of course. We'll review them together later tonight."

That got Sarah laughing. "What kind of pictures?" she asked.

"I'm afraid that's up to Carlos," Chuck teased. "I've put him in charge of today's session. He's the artist. I've only met him a few minutes ago but look at his eyes. He's looking at you like a starving wolf would look at an injured lamb. I'm sure that he has a very vivid imagination. Fortunately, you can't claim to have much in the way of personal modesty. So they'll be no reason not to follow his instructions to the letter. I know that you're going to do your very best to make the results as exciting for me as you possibly can, right?"

Sarah walked over to Chuck and lowered her voice. "Chuck, you're not expecting me to actually have sex with him?"

"I guess that depends on how you'd define sex," Chuck said. "If he does a really good job you might want to reward him with a 'thank you' blowjob."

He looked at the devastation on her face. "Sarah, I'm teasing you," Chuck said in mock horror. "You'll never see me suggesting that I witness you having sex with another man. That would be a huge devastating turnoff for me. You cheating on me would be crossing a major line, remember? I'm getting a little concerned that you would even suggest that. What is this? Are you attracted to him?"

"Very funny," a very relieved Sarah said.

"It just occurred to me," Chuck teased. "Sex is sorta a vague term. I'm not sure if you having sex with yourself technically counts as cheating… especially when you're doing it for my amusement. Laura clearly didn't think she was cheating on Casey in the plane today. It's a grey area, right? If Carlos suggests something like that as a possible pose, well, my concerns probably don't apply. And between you and me, he's almost assuredly going to suggest it. Given your performance on the plane, I expect to see some very sexy poses."

That got Sarah laughing again. "I'll bet," she said. "Chuck, what's gotten into you today?"

"You needed something from me that you weren't getting," he said sadly as he turned to go. "All because of my stupid hang ups. I realize that now. I'm embarrassed. So I'm going to make up for lost time. Trust me. I'm going to act like an absolute pig all day. You're going to be proud of me. I haven't even gotten warmed up yet."

"Thank you," Sarah said. Then she realized what he was doing. "You're leaving me alone with him?" she asked in concern.

"Of course," Chuck explained. "My being here would likely cramp Carlos's creative style. If he tries to cross any line, well, you may not be a spy, but I'm pretty sure you can still make him wish he'd never been born. Besides, I want to be surprised. I'll see you in a few hours."

"Remember," Chuck said over his shoulder as he walked away. "Carlos is in charge. Don't disappoint me."

Carlos waited until Chuck was out of sight then he offered her his hand. "Apuesto Apuesto a que usted tiene algunas cosas muy sexy," he said as he looked her over from head to toe, clearly approvingly.

Sarah swallowed. This wasn't like Chuck. In fairness, she did tell him he could ask for anything. So maybe the way that Carlos was leering at her wasn't all that comforting. But this also wasn't all that wild. And she did have to admit, the thought of putting on a performance for him was kinda sexy. Might as well make the most of it. So she smiled, took his hand, and led him to their stateroom.

"Llévame a tu habitación y te elegimos algunas cosas para al modelo," Carlos said.

"Creo que voy a disfrutar realmente de estar a cargo."

x-x-x-x-x

The entire island was surrounded by the snow white beach. The ladies used the firm sand at water's edge that was packed down by the ocean as a running track almost every morning. In fact, Joey and Laura were getting quite competitive. So it was easy for Chuck to casually walk on the beach until he was out of sight and dial his phone.

"Yes, sir," Agent Carmichael said. "My mission is on target. I expect acquisition within forty-eight hours."

"Excellent," Quinn said. "The ship is heading for the rendezvous point. Make contact when you have acquisition as planned."

"Yes, sir," Agent Carmichael acknowledged.

Quinn started laughing. "I see that the other part of your mission is also going well," he said. "Carlos just sent me a picture that is… quite interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing what else you can come up with."

"About that," Agent Carmichael said. "Sir, is this really necessary? She is no longer an agent. This just seems cruel for no justifiable reason."

"Don't get emotionally involved," Quinn warned. "Trust me, she's not. Her assignment is to control you. It's easy to be fooled by the pretty face. This is a stone cold assassin who has killed scores of people, many of them your friends. If she got the order she would terminate you in a heartbeat and next week she'd be on her new mission. In a month she'd forget your name. Elder Bowles has made some serious personal sacrifices and invested twenty billion dollars in this project. She deserves a little fun out of this, don't you think?"

"Yes, sir," Agent Carmichael sighed.

"No mercy," Quinn said. "In fact some video of her in an unusual situation would be a nice touch. See if you can make that happen."

"Yes, sir," Agent Carmichael said sadly. "I'll see what I can do."

As soon as the call ended, Quinn sighed. "We have a problem," he said.

"He's in love with her," Bowles said. "We always knew that might be an issue. Our planted memories can mute that for a while. But eventually he's going to start feeling things."

"I'm afraid that we've underestimated those feelings," Quinn said. "He's already starting to feel guilty."

"He's not going to be an effective agent," Bowles said. "If we can't control him…"

"Maybe we should just eliminate him," Quinn suggested.

"Guys, guys, guys," Roark interjected. "He's an Intersect 2.0. They don't exactly grow on trees. We'll send him on missions. We'll keep the governor. It will only be a few days before he needs it and comes crawling back to save his life. That's how we'll control him."

"She's also in love with him," Quinn said. "By all accounts, she has it worse than he does. We might be able to use that."

"Now you're thinking," Roark said as he slapped Quinn affectionately on the back. "When he gets bad, we'll send him on a mission without the governor to recruit Agent Walker. If he comes back, we have a shot at getting most of our twenty billion dollars returned. If he doesn't come back… no big loss when his head explodes. I'm sure we can find a role for her, if only to keep him happy."

Bowles groaned. "That means I don't get to kill her," she said sadly.

Roark handed her the phone with the just taken cheesecake picture of Sarah's most sexy smile as she posed partially wearing a blue negligee. Not that it hid much anyway, but it was pulled down to her waist. "That's true," he said. "But look on the bright side. You'll be in complete charge of her."

"Given your domineering preferences, I'm sure you can think of some other way to get even."

x-x-x-x-x

Carina was honestly starting to go a little stir crazy. She was maybe used to being alone. But she certainly wasn't used to being the third wheel. And everyone else on the island was a couple. Not only a couple, but a firmly committed one. That was putting a serious dent into her sex life. Okay, sure. She was a twenty minute boat ride from San Juan and the jet set parties where she always had an open invitation. But that was effort. They always quickly degenerated into drunken orgies anyway. And how many nights in a row could you spend in a drunken orgy? Even Carina had some standards. She definitely needed a mission.

So the knock at her door maybe wasn't exactly fate, but it wasn't all that unwelcome either.

"Chuck," she said. "I've been expecting you."

"Really?" Chuck asked sarcastically. "I guess I've been coming to your room a little too often. I've become predictable. People are going to start talking."

That got them both laughing. "No," Carina said. "I don't think you have to worry about that. Sarah told me that you were going to talk to me about staying away from Morgan."

"Well," Chuck said thoughtfully. "I did tell her that. But circumstances have changed. Listen to me for a minute."

Carina sat and listened to Chuck's plan in stunned silence. Finally he was finished. "Are you serious?" she asked. "The last time I got sucked into one of your seduction plans I found myself naked and helplessly secured to my bed. The price to get free was rather… distasteful."

"But that was before we were friends," Chuck said. "Right? You have to admit, you had that coming. And who are we kidding? Are you going to stand there and tell me that you didn't enjoy the… taste a little? Really?"

Carina fought the urge to laugh. Say what you want about Chuck Bartowski, he could always make you laugh. "So," she said sarcastically, ignoring his teasing as best she could. "Sarah is okay with this plan to trick Alex into sharing your bed?"

"She is," Chuck said. "She doesn't know every detail. But she assured me that she'd do whatever I needed."

"Why?"

"Because she thinks that she's inadequate as a real wife," Chuck explained. "So she thinks she needs to constantly give me these kinky performances to keep me happy. For a long time I thought that if I just ignored it this would fade. That's not working. It's honestly annoying. So I'm changing tactics. My new plan is to give her bigger and bigger tasks until she finally admits she's had enough."

Carina sat for a long moment deep in thought. "I can see that," she finally admitted. "She honestly adores you. I don't even think you appreciate how much. You saved her from her own version of hell. Deep inside she's panicked that her baggage will mean she ultimately won't be enough for you. She keeps waiting for that shoe to drop and for her to have to return to hell. Hopefully that fear will get better over time. But Agent Walker has had it drilled into her head her whole life… by the agency and every man she's ever met that sex is the main thing she has to offer. Your words are good. But for right now anyway, I thing she needs your actions more. Allow her to feel like she's contributing."

Agent Carmichael paused for a moment. That was something he didn't need to hear. Carina was right. Sarah fully trusted him. When he left with the Intersect, by his very actions he was getting ready to send her back to that horrible hell. That is if she wasn't playing a role anyway. He had to get that out of his head. It was confusing. It made an already tough task even tougher. But he still had a job to do. "I know," he said.

"What makes you think I can pull this off?" Carina asked. "Tricking Alex into a sucker bet that makes her your helpless plaything for a week?"

"I have total confidence in you," Chuck said. "Who is better at this at you are? I'm sure you'll make sure that Alex is a little drunk. She'll be vulnerable, her confidence shaken at seeing you seduce Morgan so easily. Besides, I have an ace in the hole. You don't want to hear about your reward if you're successful?"

Well that got Carina's attention. Her eyes asked the question.

"It's time to up the ante on Sarah's kinky tasks," Chuck said with a grin. "Remember that day of total control over her that you wanted in Miami? As soon as you're successful, I'm going to send her here to this room and give you two whole hours of being in charge of her in every detail. She'll do whatever you demand enthusiastically because she'll be fully aware that I'm watching. You'll be taping it for my amusement."

Chuck looked at Carina's face knowingly. "That changes your whole perspective, doesn't it?" he teased. "You'd give a kidney to make that happen. We both know it. If you're not willing to admit that you'd be willing to do ten times what I'm asking, maybe we don't have anything to discuss."

When Chuck playfully got up to leave Carina grabbed his wrist. "Okay," she said. "You win. Yes, I'll admit that I want this. But I want the record straight. It's not what you're thinking."

"What am I thinking?" Chuck teased. "You're not planning on teaching her some new skills?"

"I'm not in love with her," Carina insisted. "It's not anything like that. This is only a one time thing. Even if it was remotely possible, and it's not, I'm not looking to alter your relationship or change her preferences or anything. I normally don't even roll that way myself. I honestly love her more than anyone in the world. I'm very protective of her. I would never do anything to hurt her. I'm not even sure I can explain… look, I just want her to admit something."

In spite of how awful Chuck was feeling that got him laughing. "You're not fooling me," he said. "Since you're struggling, I'll explain it for you. She's the spy version of sweet and innocent and you want to deflower her. You think that being deflowered will be good for her. Let's stipulate that we don't often share the same view on things. But in this case I actually think you're right. For the record, I do believe that you love her. That's why I feel comfortable giving her to you here under your total control with nothing off the table. I hope you appreciate that you're the one person I trust enough to do that. And be honest. You'll get to live out your #1 lifelong fantasy performing the deflowerization. Do we have a deal?"

Carina found that she had nothing left to argue. He had just nailed her exactly. It was more than a little impressive. "We have a deal," she said as she shook his offered hand.

"You can consider it done."

x-x-x-x-x


	5. The Problem With Fantasies

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

_A word to the wise. This will be the third of a couple of really dark chapters. If you can make it through this, things will get better. But it's going to get pretty rough from a Charah POV. As always, I promise only happy endings._

_Content Warning: There is a sort of nonconsensual scene in this chapter. Really tame in the T version, but if you're at all squeamish about such things you may want to give this chapter a pass._

_I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

**The Problem With Fantasies**

x-x-x-x-x

It was really too early to get dressed for dinner. But Sarah didn't have much to do after the session with Carlos ended. And a hot shower didn't sound all that bad.

Not that it was all that horrible. Chuck was right. Thanks to the CIA Academy she couldn't claim to have much in the way of personal modesty. It felt a little odd to be posing so provocatively for another man. It had been a long time since that had happened. And Carlos was certainly a pig. He found every sexy thing in her closet for her to model, clearly for the base thrill of watching her put it on and slowly take it off. A few of the positions he put her in most definitely crossed the border from art to obscenity. The approving smirk and growing bulge in his pants were a little disgusting. And the lurid innuendo as he offered to help in her performance was far more than a little disgusting. But ultimately the only thing he touched was his camera. This was for Chuck so she did her very best to make this as sexy as possible. And there were lots of things about her new life where confidence was an issue. But there was one thing that Sarah was absolutely confident of. When she wanted to look sexy… she most definitely could.

She was so caught up in her daydream of looking at the pictures with Chuck later that she didn't notice the person until his hand was over her mouth and her arm pinned behind her back awkwardly. The hood was on her head pulled down over her eyes in a flash.

"Faire un putain de son et je vais arracher votre tête," the voice growled as he pulled up on her arm to the point of causing some serious pain. "Hochement de tête une fois si vous comprenez."

Sarah wasn't all that afraid. Chuck was right earlier. She could take this Carlos moron with one arm tied behind her back. All she needed was an opening. So she nodded.

Carlos clearly wasn't all that experienced of a fighter because he foolishly released her arm. Maybe the hood covered her eyes so she couldn't see him. But that didn't keep Sarah from grabbing the hand that was still covering her mouth and use it as leverage as she threw a spinning punch at the sound of his voice designed to knock this asshole's head clear off his shoulders and send it rolling across the floor.

It didn't quite work out that way. Carlos was clearly stronger than he looked. He rather effortlessly grabbed her arm in mid flight and used it to slam Sarah against the wall. The force of her head impacting the bulkhead stunned her. For a long moment the fight was knocked out of her as she fought against the threatening darkness.

"C'était vraiment stupide," he growled. "vous allez payer pour ça."

Sarah could feel the hand around her throat. She knew full well she was in serious trouble. That was a submission hold. It's just that she couldn't do anything to stop him. In a final desperate move she threw a kick at where she guessed his groin would be.

Again he was waiting for her. She felt a sharp pain in her knee as he easily knocked her leg away and tightened his hold on her throat. "Vous apprenez tout simplement jamais?"

She could hear the smug confidence in his voice. "Vous êtes sur le point d'être baisée par un vrai homme," he sneered. "Vous le savez et je le sais. Clin de œil quand vous êtes prêt à commencer."

Sarah quickly realized that she had little choice. She would soon be unconscious and totally defenseless. He was far too quick and much too strong for her. So she nodded.

"Enlever votre chemise."

Sarah hesitated for a moment. This was really the point of no return. She had just spent a couple of hours in various stages of nakedness in front of him. This was different. She knew full well what he was demanding. If she stood there and willingly stripped for him this time she had basically submitted to whatever he wanted. And what he wanted this time was clearly a lot more than simply some sexy poses. Her instinct was to fight. Carlos must have thought so too because her hesitation earned her being pulled back and slammed back violently into the wall again. In her current state, fighting simply wasn't an option. She was overmatched. Maybe if she pretended to go along she could find an opening before any actual sex. She began to unbutton her shirt through the numbness.

Carlos either had a knife or he was incredibly strong because as soon as her shirt was off through the fog she could feel her bra hanging loose from her shoulders. The hand that wasn't around her throat was now roughly pawing her bare chest. "Pantalons," he growled.

Sarah really didn't hesitate. She was simply too stunned to move quickly. But that earned her a stinging slap to the face. "Pantalons," he repeated. "Maintenant!"

Sarah moved to the clasp of her pants. "Please," she said in surrender as they slid to the floor. "You win. I'll do whatever you say. Just don't hurt me any more."

"I'm sorry, Sarah," he said as he took the hood off her head. "I… I just can't do this. This is too real. I'm sorry."

Suddenly the light in Sarah's head went on. That wasn't Carlos. It wasn't even Spanish. It was French. She was looking at her husband.

Chuck looked at the obvious pain in her face. "I hurt you," he said. "That was pretty awful. Please tell me that you didn't enjoy that."

"No," Sarah said through the ringing in her ears. He more or less carried her to the bed and helped her sit down. "That didn't go quite like my vision at all. It was terrifying. I was helpless."

Chuck quickly went to the bathroom to get her some aspirin and a glass of water. "I can't tell you how horrible I feel," he said.

Sarah felt her senses returning quickly. She saw the devastation on his face. "Why?" she asked as she gratefully accepted the pills and washed them down with a swig of water. "Chuck, you didn't do anything other than what I asked you to do. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. The Intersect makes you superhuman. I knew that I'd probably eventually lose but I seriously thought that I'd be able to defend myself better. I didn't stand a chance. So if you don't mind, I think maybe we'll scratch ravage off our list of games."

"I hurt you," Chuck said as he got up to leave. "I can't tell you how unacceptable that is to me."

That got Sarah smiling in spite of the pain. "I know," she said. "And that is just today's installment of nicest guy in the world. Nothing happened here today that those aspirin, a new bra, and a two hour nap won't fix."

Agent Carmichael knew that he had to get out of that room soon or he was going to confess everything. That would be fatal… to his mission… and probably to him. "Take your nap," he said. "I'm going for a walk. I'll see you at dinner."

"I'd sleep a lot better if you'd snuggle with me," Sarah suggested.

At this point that was the last thing that could happen. "I need to clear my head," he said. "Have a nice nap. I'll see you at dinner."

x-x-x-x-x

It had developed into a semi-ritual. After whatever brilliant feast that Chef and the staff had prepared for the night, they stayed in the common room… for what most would call a party. Most nights the guys just stayed in and played cards. The girls always wanted to dance. The dancers had two options. The common room had a huge dance floor. But weather permitting, and in this part of the world weather was almost always permitting, the staff built a huge bonfire on the beach.

The girls almost always chose the beach. And sometimes one of them could drag their guy away from the card game long enough for a dance, a romantic walk, or something else. After all, once you were a hundred yards away from the bonfire, you might as well be a hundred miles away. You had complete privacy.

One of the advantages of being ridiculously rich was there was never the lack of something to drink. You were waited on hand and foot. The staff knew exactly what you wanted, always made sure you had a fresh one, and never seemed to notice if you were mostly naked.

Joan was often torn. She loved to play cards. She quickly found that she could be one of the guys without being at all awkward. So when Carina was off the island looking to get laid she usually stayed inside. But she also found that dancing with the spies was intoxicating.

She was also enough of a psychologist to see the relationships forming. Clique was far too strong of a word. They all got along famously. But they also clearly naturally gravitated into certain groups.

Sarah and Joey almost always found themselves together. It made some sense. Joey was the most like Chuck in that she could always make you laugh. And Joey obviously was star struck by the famous Agent Walker who she plainly still saw as a hero and mentor.

Likewise Laura and Ellie really got along and most always were together. It was strange seeing them together. Both were usually fairly sober personalities. But together they usually degenerated into schoolgirl giggling. It didn't hurt that Devon and Casey were hands down the closest among the guys.

So that left her and Carina. Carina was a unique choice to be a best friend. Their views on, well almost everything, were polar opposites. But she also found herself constantly laughing. Carina had this easy going style where she could say the most outrageous things, openly describe the most nontraditional personal intimate situations in amazingly vivid detail, yet not horrify you.

Joan was definitely smart enough to realize that her best friend was having a good time slowly trying to seduce her down the road to the spy life view on things. And she found that she was having fun. She even went to San Juan to the parties with her a couple of times. She even found herself having fun. But ultimately the constant drip of being hit on by some rich dude looking for a kinky conquest became tiresome. Men with money had never impressed Joan, especially now that she was almost always basically the richest person in the room.

A drunken orgy really wasn't her scene and Carina quickly enough recognized that and stopped suggesting it. Joan was never going to come close to cheating on Steven anyway, especially given his history with his first wife. She even tried once to warn Steven about Carina's attempts to corrupt her. But unless there was a technical specification in there someplace, he seemed particularly uninterested. At first that honestly pissed Joan off. But quickly enough she realized that he wasn't taking her for granted. It only meant he trusted her judgment, didn't consider Carina a threat in any way, and maybe even rooted for an exciting story of a little minor corruption. She was forming a plan to test that theory by telling him a made up story that pushed the line to see how he'd react. That might be a little fun.

So enter Alex into that dynamic. She was more than a little wide eyed. Joan fully expected some culture shock. Alex had never been anyplace so exotic. She had lived for all of her adult life as a poor hard working college student struggling to make ends meet. Suddenly she was living in a palace on a private tropical island, being waited on hand and foot while dining on fresh lobster served by a private chef. Joan knew that Alex's life changing so dramatically could go one of two ways. The most likely was for her to become overwhelmed, feel out of place, and quickly become lonely and want to leave. Of course the other possibility was that she would become intoxicated with her new circumstance, overdo it, and eventually look to hump anything standing on two legs. Being surrounded by a bevy of now ex spies who were always looking to corrupt sweet and innocent whenever they encountered it, that was a very possible outcome.

Neither of those possibilities was particular healthy. Fortunately Ellie beat her to the punch. She got the girls together and gently suggested that they ease Alex into her new life. That meant the tops stayed on while they were dancing until further notice and at dinner non-see-through bras were to be worn. Ellie was probably the only person on the island who could make that 'suggestion' and actually have it obeyed.

So tonight's party was a little different. Joan never understood why spies loved to dance topless once they were drinking. It certainly wasn't a sexual thing. There was no one to arouse. It probably wasn't even a spy thing. Being topless on the beach was common in Europe. She and Ellie weren't really spies. But even they sometimes found themselves shedding what skimpy bikini top that settled for clothes early in the evening. It was oddly liberating. But since Alex had joined them, thanks to Ellie, the tops stayed reluctantly on.

Then there was Chuck. Something was clearly bothering him. He didn't say two words at dinner, currently wasn't in his usual place at the card table trading barbs with Casey. She could barely see his silhouette against the full moon sitting on the beach just out of range of the bonfire light. It was unusual enough that Joan made a point to go talk to him. He was plainly struggling with something.

On the other hand, Sarah was much more giddy than normal. That was even more unusual, at least when she wasn't touching Chuck in some way. And since Carina had already told her that she had planned to spend tonight getting closer to Alex, Joan found herself unoccupied. "What is with you tonight?" she asked as soon as Joey pleaded for a break. "You're grinning from ear to ear."

Sarah didn't answer right away. She tipped back a shot of tequila and placed the empty glass on the table with a defiant grin. Then she unexpectedly wrapped her arms around Joan's neck and squeezed tight. "Life is good," she said.

Joan did a double take. Okay, maybe she wasn't Sarah's best friend. Sarah was very cautious about who she truly allowed inside her walls. But their relationship was growing… with the prospect of growing even more. At least she no longer feared being gutted like a fish. But this was a first. "Life is good," she agreed in a teasing tone. "And my step daughter-in-law Sarah is a little drunk."

That predictably got Sarah giggling. The 'stepmom' thing was a running gag. Joan maybe had the title, but she definitely didn't want to be 'mom.' That was more Ellie's role. Joan wanted to be one of the girls. "Maybe a little," Sarah admitted.

Joan was stunned. She had seen every single woman on the island, herself included, drunk as a skunk at one point or another in the past month… except for Sarah. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

Sarah paused for a long, long moment. "Did you ever want something?" she asked. "I mean really, really want something? Think that it was the last thing you'd ever need to be happy. Then when you finally get it discover that you don't know how to deal with it? In fact discover that it's you that is causing the issues?"

Joan was really trying to keep the conversation light. "Yes," she said. "Most definitely. I have two words for you… Bryce Larkin."

That got them both laughing. "Sarah," Joan asked. "What's wrong? Did something happen with Chuck?"

"Absolutely," Sarah said. "The man is simply far too fucking perfect for his own good. Have you ever seen a nicer guy in your life?" Then she got serious again. "I didn't believe in love," she said. "I didn't. It was for suckers. I never imagined I could ever feel so strongly for someone. I don't even understand it. But every day… Joan, every single day I find myself loving him even more. I'm honestly obsessed. I'm not even sure it's all that healthy." She paused for a long moment and got serious. "Joan, you're a psychologist. If I ask you a question, will you give me a brutally honest answer? Even if you think I won't like it?"

Joan was stunned. "Of course," she said. Sarah had maybe overstated her title a little, at least technically. Dr. Cole maybe possessed all the required credentials but she never bothered to get licensed as a psychologist. It wasn't the career she wanted.

"Do I deserve him?" Sarah asked. "I mean, he's perfect. And I'm… well, I'm certainly not."

"You're not perfect," Joan agreed. "But then again neither is Chuck."

"What's wrong with Chuck?" Sarah asked.

"I'll tell you," Joan said. "But only if you promise not to gut me like a fish."

That got a little of Sarah's smile back. "I guess it depends on what you're going to say," she teased. "I'm pretty defensive of him. People disparaging him usually doesn't sit well with me."

"Fair enough," Joan said. "I think I'll stay on the safe side and just point out the things where Chuck is like his dad. This is an area where I have some experience." She paused long enough to see Sarah nod. "He is far too sensitive. He gets his feelings hurt by the slightest unintentional slip of the tongue. He goes on and on and on about the stupidest geekiest things, always over analyzes every fucking detail of every fucking situation and constantly comes up with the worst possible conclusion. And, Sarah, have you ever seen a worse dresser? The man's a billionaire. I mean those tennis shoes… really? And I gotta tell you, I've seen better haircuts."

"But those are the exact things that make him perfect," Sarah protested. "I like his haircut. It's sexy."

"Okay," Joan said. "I'll not deny that. But if that's true it's because what other people see as faults, you see as endearing qualities. It's because you're in love with him. Do you deserve him? I don't know how anybody deserves someone. But I gotta tell you. Chuck is just as in love with you. He sees your faults as endearing qualities. For what it's worth, it's perfectly healthy to be obsessed with your soul mate. It would be unhealthy if you weren't. If you weren't already about to gut me, I'd point out how truly ridiculous you're being. You really want Dr. Joan Cole-Bartowski's brutally honest clinical professional opinion? I seriously think you're talking yourself into problems that you don't actually have. You'd be a lot happier if you could figure out a way to stop doing that."

"Maybe," Sarah said, her voice almost a whisper to keep from breaking. "I hope so."

"Now it's your turn to be brutally honest," Joan said.

"Sarah, why don't you think you deserve to be happy?"

x-x-x-x-x

Agent Carmichael was sitting on the sand listening to the ocean… so deep in thought that he didn't notice her until she was sitting next to him. The last thing he needed right now was Agent Walker getting even more into his head. But he'd also be less than truthful saying that the thrill of seeing her wasn't genuine.

"Did you clear your head?" Sarah asked as she snuggled into him.

Chuck ignored the rhetorical question. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Chuck," Sarah said with maybe a little more harshness than she meant. "It's over… a bad memory. You're going to stop feeling guilty about this right now. You didn't do a thing wrong. This is all my fault. Fantasies are odd things, aren't they? In your imagination things are sometimes completely different. I honestly imagined it would be sexy. I could always get myself worked up just thinking about it. As it turned out, it was horrible, violent, the exact opposite of sexy. I'll never ask you for that again. Maybe you'll find that some of the things you ask for don't work out exactly as you imagined them. But all you did today was what I've been begging from you for the past few months, right down to doing it in French. You did it all for me. Then you proved once again that you're the nicest guy in the world and couldn't go through with it. So I'd be grateful if we could scratch 'ravage' off our fantasy list and forget it ever happened. Okay?"

"Okay," Chuck sighed.

Sarah got to her feet and pulled Chuck to his. "Take a walk with me," she said. "I have to admit," she said as they walked along the beach holding hands. "My original plan for tonight was to get out of sight, get us both naked, and use your guilt to get you to do my very favorite thing… over and over until the sun rose."

That broke a lot of the tension. "I'll bet," Chuck said with his first genuine smile.

"But it occurred to me that my erotic vision wasn't really being fair," Sarah said. "I'm the one who screwed up, not you. So maybe I need to do something to make up for some guilt. I found that thought was getting me just as excited. But what to do for you that would be perfect? I have to admit, I was struggling coming up with that perfect thing." Sarah paused grinning for dramatic effect. "Then fate intervened," she continued. "Carina came up to me. She told me that you gave her an assignment. She also told me about the rather unique payment plan you had negotiated with her."

Chuck couldn't read her tone. It wasn't angry. It was playful, almost mocking. "Umm," he said awkwardly.

That got Sarah grinning. "Be advised," she said in a mock lecture. "You don't make deals like that with Carina unless you're fully prepared to pay off. She's the best there is at manipulating people into doing things they normally wouldn't do. But in this case, her mission was ridiculously easy. As it turns out the prevalent notion that Alex is this shy sexually naive sweet and innocent thing that needs to be corrupted is a little… well… really, really wrong."

Indeed, when they turned a corner Alex was standing there. "So as it turns out," Sarah said. "Alex lost her bet. That makes her your enthusiastic plaything for the next week. Isn't that right, Alex?"

"Yes, sir," Alex said. "A bet is a bet. If I could respectfully ask for one favor. It would be great if we could work it out so that Morgan had to witness you putting me though the sexual wringer sometime this week. I'd like to have some credibility for the various incredibly vivid stories of my sexual service to you I'm going to use to pay him back for the lurid scene I just witnessed. The boy needs to learn that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. I'm thinking a scorched earth policy would work. For every time I catch him fucking someone, I'm going to tell him ten very real stories of me fucking someone. That seems fair. Something tells me I'm going to be busy… and likely wildly popular."

I don't think you have to worry about that," Sarah said as she nodded to Alex in what was plainly a preplanned signal. "Lately, Chuck's imagination has gotten quite… well vivid. I imagine you'll have as many stories as you want to horrify Morgan until such time as you finally let him off the hook."

Alex saw Sarah's signal and started to unbutton her shirt. Sarah turned to Chuck. "So sweetie," she said trying to keep from laughing. "As it turns out, you now have a new plaything. I'm afraid that means I'm now obligated to go to Carina's room for a couple of hours and become her plaything. So here is my formal apology to you in the form of a humbly offered gift. I know that I said that having sex with Alex without me would make me jealous. For the next two hours I'm going to put that jealousy aside. Alex is yours to command. Right, Alex?"

Alex didn't take much time getting rid of her clothes. "Yes, sir," she said as she slid her panties to the sand and stood there posing. "Command me."

"Sarah," Chuck sighed. "You're both drunk. You don't really mean this."

"I've had a few drinks," Sarah admitted. "I'll admit that I'm a little nervous about being under Carina's complete control. I'm not sure what details she is going to demand… I am sure I'll be doing some things that I've never done before."

Sarah paused before continuing with a sigh. "But I mean this with every fiber of my being. I've been a hypocrite. I've asked you to do things that are against your better nature, then made it awkward. That is just plain wrong. If I'm going to tell you that I'm up for anything, then I'd better be able to get up for anything. So I want you to have a good time tonight. And let's face it. When you're with me pure lust doesn't work. You're always going to worry about that stupid line you think exists. You have to admit, that line issue doesn't apply with Alex and never will. You'll be comfortable asking her for anything. You heard her. She wants you to get kinky. And that actually seems just since I will almost assuredly be performing some acts at the same time under Carina's direction that could be considered kinky sex by even a conservative definition."

Sarah playfully ran her hand up Chuck's thigh until she reached his… umm… apex. "Please don't try and deny that you're on fire right now," she teased. "Your body is screaming it. And why not? Look at that beautiful woman standing there in the moonlight waiting for your command. So, sweetie, yes, I've been drinking. Yes, this is going to definitely be a once in a lifetime offer. But it is an honest one. I want you to take full advantage. I'll tell you what. Tape the next two hours like Carina will and we'll meet in our room and watch them both together later while we compare notes. I doubt you'll be in any shape tonight for your threesome. We'll play that one by ear. There's always tomorrow."

Sarah's grin turned a little evil. "How about our usual bet on which tape is the wildest?" And with a quick kiss, she was gone, quickly disappeared in the darkness.

x-x-x-x-x


	6. Mission Accomplished

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

_A word to the wise. This will be the first last really dark chapter. If you can make it through this, things will get better. As always, I promise only happy endings. I'm going to stop posting the T story. Nobody is reading it and it's a fair amount of work._

_I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

**Mission Accomplished**

x-x-x-x-x

After Sarah left Agent Carmichael found himself standing on a tropical moonlit beach with a very naked Alex grinning at him. This was getting ridiculous. She was clearly a spy using sex to control him under the direction of Agent Walker. He had just witnessed an impressive text book tag team. Then again, it would be hard to deny being attracted to her. And for being an assignment, the hardness of her nipples clearly indicated how much she was getting into it. That didn't mean much. He knew the training. Making yourself get into it was the safest way to not blow your cover. Besides, wild sex without emotional attachments was one of the few benefits that came with being deep undercover. "You've been drinking," he said. "Are you sure that you want to do this?"

Alex sauntered over to stand directly in front of him. "Of course," she said. "I wasn't kidding about Morgan. That sonofabitch didn't last two seconds before he was giving Carina the high hard one. That's mostly why I've been drinking more than I usually do. I always knew that I was going to be disappointed if I expected anything close to monogamy from him, especially with all the beautiful women around. I'm not sure I'm even ready to offer him monogamy. But what I just witnessed was simply ridiculous. He needs to pay." Alex's grin turned sly. "So what should I call you for the next week?" she asked. "Sir? Master? Joey was teasing the other night that you like Daddy."

"Daddy works," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Why not?"

Alex stepped forward until her chest was pressing into his. Even through his shirt he could feel her excitement. "Okay, Daddy," she purred. "What would you like first? I've never been a sex slave before… well, not for an entire week anyway. How do you want me to act? Slutty? Bashful? Something else?"

"We'll pay that one by ear," he replied.

"I think I know," Alex said with a grin. "You want to defile the sweet and innocent girl next door. Well, you've certainly earned that right. I'm not exactly sweet and innocent, but I think I can convincingly play the role. Why don't we go back to your ship? The light will be better for my performance. You sort of promised Sarah that you would tape it." She playfully ran her hand up his thigh just as Sarah had done and leaned in to whisper into his ear. "But, Daddy, you're in charge," she said. "I am dressed for the part. If you want some service from me right here… and if what I'm currently feeling is any indication, I think that you might. I'm more than happy to perform it. It's totally within my job description."

"Let's go back to the Enforcer," Chuck said, trying as best he could to ignore the hand that was rubbing his hardness through his pants. "You should probably get dressed so that if anyone sees you, especially your dad, it won't arouse suspicions. Give me a half hour. I'll meet you on the deck."

"Yes, sir," Alex said as she began to gather her clothes. "Sorry, I mean, Daddy. I really need to tell you something. Look I didn't expect this thing with Carina to happen. In fact I'm pretty sure that I got hustled. But I'm not at all unhappy that it did. You've done so much for me. The truth is you've changed my life. You made me part of your world, invited me to share your life as a billionaire on this exotic island when I don't have two dimes to rub together. I just got back with Ellie and Joey from a shopping trip in San Juan at a shop that caters to jet setters. I now have several personally tailored party dresses and my new underwear costs more than my entire wardrobe did a week ago. Instead of going to work every day, I find myself sunning on a private beach and playing on jet skis. Instead of eating soup out of a can, I find myself eating gourmet meals prepared by a French chef."

Alex paused for a moment to gather her composure. "I don't know of anybody who would do something like that for someone like me," she said. "It's so generous that I can't believe it's actually happening. I feel like I just won the lottery. I really don't know how to say this without sounding like a whore or a gold digger or both. So I'm just going to say it and hope you understand. I don't have any other way to express my gratitude. Even after this week, if you ever are in the mood to want something from me I'm more than willing to make sure you get it. If that means I occasionally hit my knees thanking you, that's more than okay with me. I know that Sarah is pretty jealous. Trust me. Nobody would have to know except us. But let's face it, you're too shy to ever ask me for sex. Luckily Carina just provided you the perfect excuse. So please tell me what you want from me, no matter how out there you think it is, and watch me smile sweetly and do my honest best to make it as exciting for you as I possibly can. Don't let this feel odd. It doesn't to me."

He watched Alex get dressed and head to the ship as instructed until she was out of sight. This was so clearly an agent on a control-with-sex mission. And he could have her enthusiastically in any position he wanted for an entire week… with her partner, the most beautiful woman in the world, soon joining them. It would even be great for his assignment to snap a couple of pictures of them in intimate positions. That would surely entertain Ms. Bowles. And there wasn't a single reason to hold anything back. He was never going to see them again. Who wouldn't want that?

So why didn't he?

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah didn't bother to knock. Carina didn't believe in locks. Her reasoning seemed solid. Anybody who could possibly pose a threat to her wouldn't be slowed down by a lock anyway. Indeed when she walked into the room Carina was sitting calmly on the sofa clearly waiting for her. "I thought you'd already be nude," Sarah said. "After all, two hours isn't a lot of time. I figured you'd want to make the most out of every moment."

"Two hours is plenty," Carina teased. "Any longer and you'll like it so much that you'll be tempted to leave him. A messy divorce. A custody battle over the Enforcer. Who wants that?"

Sarah didn't laugh. She went to sit next to her. "Is that camera running?" she asked, indicating the camera on the tripod conspicuously located in the middle of the room pointed directly at them."

"Of course," Carina said. "That was our deal. Why?"

Sarah didn't answer. She wrapped her arm around Carina's neck and pulled her into a massive kiss. Carina was so surprised that it didn't register for a long moment that Sarah's tongue was seeking hers. "That's why," Sarah whispered as the long kiss finally broke.

"Wow," Carina said with a grin. "Someone's really been drinking a lot of tequila."

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Sarah asked as she worked on the buttons to her blouse. "Okay, so I had to get a little drunk to give it to you. Are you really going to sit there and pretend that you haven't imagined this moment about a million times? So me being a little drunk is now a turn off for you? You're something of a hard person to please."

That got Carina laughing. "Whoa there, Blondie," she teased. "Slow down a second."

"Why?" Sarah asked as she threw her shirt to the floor quickly followed by her bra. "If we're going to do this, let's do it."

"Is that what you really want?" Carina asked.

"So now I have to want it?" Sarah asked as she guided Carina's hand to her left breast and held it there as her other hand worked on the clasp to her pants. "Boy, you really are a hard person to please. I'm here paying a debt. If I had secretly ever wanted this to happen, I'm pretty sure you would have been quite accommodating any or all of about a thousand times. Look, you earned this fair and square. Shut up, sit there, and collect already."

"Stop," Carina said, maybe a little harsher than she really meant as she pulled her hand away from Sarah's chest. "I think maybe you're a little confused. I'm not looking for you to seduce me."

"I know," Sarah said. "You probably want to seduce me."

"Closer," Carina admitted. "But not really."

"Then you're looking for a conquest," Sarah said. "Fine. This is your time. Okay, Mistress Carina, what do you want me to do first to serve you?"

That got Carina laughing again. "Okay," she admitted. "You got me. At one time I'll admit that my main fantasy was mostly you naked on your knees between my legs with your hands cuffed behind your back servicing me."

"Why the cuffs?" Sarah asked. "That sounds a bit much."

"I'll thank you to not psychoanalyze my fantasies," Carina said. "I don't have a clue. I don't even want to know the subconscious things that it probably says about me. Ask Joan if you must. It's just that it's hot as hell. And don't even say that it sounds just like Bryce. I'm embarrassed enough about that already. We've even had the discussion more than once on how to help the other get you in that position. Trust me. It's a sure fire way to get him instantly hard as a rock. Unfortunately, it also adversely affects his already unimpressive endurance. So it's sort of a double edged sword. Take this as a compliment. You're a pretty hard chick to get on her knees."

"No, I'm not," Sarah protested as she joined in laughing. "If you're trying to impress me with your story of getting Bryce hard as a rock, well you failed miserably. That happens when the wind blows. I'm actually quite easy to get on my knees. You two just always used the wrong tactics. I'd eagerly hit my knees any time or place that Chuck asked. Hell, if I had a hint he was in that mood, he wouldn't even have to ask."

Sarah turned from Carina to look directly into the camera. "I honestly wish he would let me do that for him more often," she said, clearly now talking to him. "He doesn't seem to get how much I love it when I can do something for him." She turned back to Carina with a sigh. "But he is uncomfortable with the thought of being selfish in bed. He's never happy until he has me moaning in pleasure. Now are you going to show me what Chuck expects me to do with Alex later tonight or not?"

"Ah," Carina said, still laughing. "So this is a training opportunity. I knew you had an angle, Blondie. You're far too eager to 'service' me. I gotta tell you. It's something of a turnoff. In my fantasy you were always more… reluctant."

"If it makes things better for you, I am reluctant," Sarah said. "I'm getting through this by putting on a sexy show for Chuck. So in that vein, when I'm down there I'm not going to encounter any of Morgan's residual… umm, DNA, am I? A sexy show for Chuck would be tough to pull off while hurling."

That got them laughing even harder. "Eww," Carina finally said. "You really know how to kill the mood. For the record, I'd be sure to ask Alex that same question."

"Eww, yourself," Sarah said. "Point well taken. Fortunately, with the way I left things I'm much more likely to encounter Chuck's residual DNA with Alex. I'm surprisingly fine with that."

"Why do you need any training anyway?" Carina teased. "From the way I hear it, Chuck does that for you about ten times a day. Surely you've reverse engineered the process in your mind well enough to have figured out the basics of what he is doing down there?"

"Chuck is a world class master," Sarah said. "Five years to the day after he retires, he's going directly into the Hall of Fame. And it's not just technique, it's also timing. He knows how to get you to the very edge then slow down and keep you on that edge forever until you're helplessly moaning, begging him for release. The man is a true genius. It would take years and years of practice to get anywhere close to Chuck's level of expertise. I don't want to enter the Kinky Sex Olympics or anything. I just don't want to embarrass myself with Alex. As it turns out she has a wealth of prior experiences to compare me too. I guess I don't mind embarrassing myself with you." Sarah glanced at the clock. "So what is the bottom line?" she asked. "You still have over an hour of rookie quality servicing bought and paid for. This is your once in a lifetime opportunity to collect. Why are you still wearing your pants?"

"Tell me something," Carina said. "Be honest. Why are you so turned on? Are you looking forward to it?"

Sarah tried to play dumb. "What makes you think I'm turned on?" she asked.

That got Carina laughing again. "Don't even try it," she said. She reached over and playfully rolled Sarah's rock hard nipple between her thumb and forefinger. "This is what makes me think you're turned on." She slid her hand down Sarah's stomach. When Sarah's hand stopped her she laughed. "My two hours," she said. Sarah reluctantly nodded and released her grip giving Carina access into her already unbuttoned pants. "Bingo," she said. "You're a fire hydrant. Should we take off these pants for the camera and show Chuck?"

"It's not what you think," Sarah said. "I could happily go my entire lifetime without 'servicing' anyone except for Chuck. But he wants to see this. He never asks me for things. But he asked me for this. So yes, in a very real way, I'm looking forward to putting on the most vivid show that I can for him. Are you going to get your cuffs or not?"

Carina looked at her for a long moment and took her hand away. "Not," she finally sighed. "Put on your shirt."

Carina responded to Sarah's surprised look. "I don't want you to do something that you don't want," she said. "Look, at one time I was convinced that I could make you want it. In fact you even needed something like this to loosen up a little. That's clearly not true. It was my selfish rationalization to get my fantasy. You're plenty loose. You don't need to be deflowered. So I'll keep my fantasy vision unblemished by awkward reality and you go to your husband and find another way to excite him."

Carina sat there for a long moment. "You're wrong about Chuck," she said. "He doesn't need or even want these wild kinky things. He's just trying to get you off his back."

Sarah's sigh of relief was audible. "Are you sure?" she asked. "You have this coming fair and square. I came over here tonight totally prepared to pay off."

"I'm sure," Carina said. "If you want my honest advice, take charge. That's what he wants. That fully in charge of every detail, Agent Walker is who he fell in love with in the first place. Stop asking him to come up with wild ideas. He'll never admit he wants those things to you anyway. If you decide he would like something, tell him that it's going to happen. I do have one condition. You talk Chuck into giving me that world class, master, Hall of Fame treatment once. I think I want to experience this for myself. Don't worry. It's a one time thing."

"He's really not going to want to do that," Sarah said. "With anybody really, but especially not with you."

"I know," Carina said with a grin. "What part of taking charge didn't you understand? Besides, that's exactly why I want it. Don't worry. I'll make sure that he doesn't enjoy himself all that much. There is this little matter of being cuffed naked to my bed that I still owe him for. You bet him about some trivial thing once a day. Surely you must win sometimes, right? Besides, he just whored you out didn't he? His taking your place naked, hands cuffed behind his back, between my legs servicing me seems incredibly fair. I'll be sure to tape it for your enjoyment. In fact this seems like a little playful justice to me on several levels. Deal?"

That got Sarah grinning. "Deal," she said. "Under one condition."

"Condition?" Carina asked. "What condition?"

"I'm going to do what I came over here to do," Sarah said.

You could have knocked Carina over with a feather. "Why?" she finally asked. "I'm letting you off the hook."

"Look," Sarah said softly. "I promised Chuck that I would do anything. And I need to show him a tape. But now that's not the only reason I'm doing this, maybe not even the main one. We don't tell each other this very much. But you came into my life at a low point. You got me through some pretty tough years. I owe you a lot more than just one ultimately meaningless sex act. I guess I never realized before how much you want this. So if you honestly want something this badly and I can give it to you with one uncomfortable hour, well, that's the least I can do. If anyone is going to claim my virginity, I'd much rather have it be you than Alex. Chuck can't begin to think that I'm cheating on him, he set this up. Besides, I keep my word. Surely you know that about me. So please don't pull any punches for the next hour. Find out if reality matches your imagination. However it works out never question that again. Get your full fantasy fulfilled. I'll have paid my debt, learned something about myself, and done something great for someone I love. I'm even going to make myself get into it. After all, you are a hard Mistress to please." Sarah looked at the hesitation on Carina's face. "Szeretője, kérjük ne csinál én könyörög," she added playfully.

That finally got a genuine smile. "You clearly don't understand my entire fantasy, Blondie," Carina teased.

"Your begging is actually a key component."

x-x-x-x-x

Agent Carmichael was almost back to the bonfire. The honest truth was, he really didn't know what to do. The thing was, his duty was plain. Until he had the Intersect glasses in his possession he had to remain under cover. And currently his cover required him to repeatedly fuck a beautiful enemy agent while she eagerly looked for decadent ways to submit to him.

Cry me a river, right? On its face, it didn't sound like all the tough of an assignment. It was bizarre. This was the situation that agents lived for. He didn't know of a single one who wouldn't take full advantage of having two beautiful enemy agents at his mercy knowing full well that they couldn't possibly refuse him anything. He should march onto that ship and have that rookie agent naked and on her knees while he thought of even more interesting ways to further use her as he taught her the hard way, over and over and over again, how degrading seduction missions could be. Then when Agent Walker arrived it would be time to shift it into the next gear. He'd make them perform every sex act known to man, individually and together. Not only would Bowles be happy, it would have him a hero as he told the story to his fellow agents.

He just found that he simply couldn't do it.

The plain truth was he was in love with one of the agents. It was impossible to deny any longer. And yes, that sounded ridiculous even to him. Sarah was almost assuredly playing a role. But it seemed so real, even for him, a seasoned agent who was looking for any crack in her armor. Was she really that good of an actress? Or were there genuine feelings there? It certainly felt real. He knew full well that if he went to that ship tonight, he would confess. That meant he was simply setting himself up for a massive heartbreak if he was wrong about her. But what choice did he have?

"I've been looking for you."

Chuck was so deep in thought that he didn't notice that Joan had walked up to him. "Here," she said as she handed him a leather pouch.

"What is this?" Chuck asked.

"It's the Intersect glasses you wanted," Joan said. "Don't take this as a lecture. I just have to say it. These are very dangerous. Please be very careful."

Agent Carmichael looked at her very closely. "Does anybody know about this?" he asked.

"No," Joan said with a shake of her head. "That's what you wanted. I trust you."

Joan would never know at that moment how close to death she was. After all, she could still raise an alarm. The safest thing would be to break her neck while they were alone and hide the body. By the time it was discovered, he'd be long gone. But the truth in her eyes saved her life… for this night anyway. "Thank you," he said. "You just saved my life."

That got a smile. "Being a little dramatic, aren't you?" she asked.

Agent Carmichael smiled back.

"You have no idea."

x-x-x-x-x

_A/N: I'm trying to be very sensitive to what I post on this site. Even though the story is rated M, I still don't believe they intended for stories here to contain explicit sex._

_So I have an expanded scene of Sarah and Carina's encounter that I will post on my LiveJournal account BillAtWork for only those people who specifically request it. It's still not smut. At least I don't think so. But it is a fairly explicit account of what happens as Sarah pays her debt and fulfils Carina's fantasy… and what she finds out about herself in the process._

x-x-x-x-x


	7. Back to Hell

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

_I've seriously grown tired of this site. I mean, technically speaking, it's a great place to publish stories. It gives you statistics and facilitates reviews. It's easy to use and is widely known. I have made many friends here._

_But it is also seemingly filled with anonymous people with the emotional maturity of a three year old._

_I knew when I started writing this it would be too dark for some people. So I rated it M. I loaded my chapters with content warnings. I heard from several of you that it was too dark and you would start reading again when that part of the story was over. I completely respect that. I even replied with the chapter (8) where you should start reading again. But I wanted to tell an adult story. It's kinda the story that Chris Fedak hinted we would get in the finale… but really didn't. We were led to believe that we would see Sarah falling in love with Chuck all over again even though she didn't remember him. I liked that. I looked forward to it. If you saw that in the finale, you have better eyes than I do._

_So, yeah, starting off this is pretty rough. Chuck isn't Chuck. He's Carmichael. He's Agent Walker's sworn enemy. He's playing her, has been ordered to break her, and even to deliver evidence to Jenifer Bowles of her total degradation for her amusement. That would end most relationships._

_But it won't end this one._

_The point of this story is that they have far too strong of a bond to have this break them. In fact, something dramatic is going to happen pretty soon that makes them closer than they ever were. It's going to be sappy and romantic. The second half of this story is a pissed off Intersect and his giant blonde she-male wife going on the warpath getting justice on the people who would dare try and break them up as they turn Venezuela into a war zone._

_Yeah, I get that this is currently uncomfortable. It's supposed to be. But IMO the comments that Sarah betrayed Chuck in any way are ridiculous. I'm questioning if we're reading the same story. It should be abundantly clear that cheating on Chuck would be the very last thing the Sarah of this story would ever do. Anybody who would dare seriously suggest it to her would find themselves beaten to a bloody pulp. She was at Carina's only because Chuck set it up in the first place. She even told her that the only way she could do this was because there was no way for Chuck to feel like she was cheating on him. Making a sexy tape was the task he assigned her. She told him that whatever she had to do for his plan to work, she'd be all in. She had to drink a lot more then she was accustomed too just to be able to go through with it. How could Chuck (or you) possibly hold that against her? And yes, she made herself get into it with Carina… and that happened a lot more than she expected. She learned something about herself. But isn't that what she promised Chuck? What she thought he wanted to see?_

_If you haven't paid any attention to my numerous content warnings so far, you're unlikely to pay attention to this one. But I'll give it one last try. If you're in the camp that believes that what Sarah did with Carina was unforgivable, you should stop reading._

_BTW, thanks to all the people I've never heard of before sending me a note saying they would never read another story of mine. Not that it matters, but I didn't know you were reading in the first place. Frankly your voice would have a much stronger impact on me if you had bothered to comment on any of the previous 80 some chapters you must have read to get to this point._

_OOC. I don't know how to answer that. Sarah Walker is a fictional character. On the show, she was the figment of Chris Fedak's imagination. In this story, she is the figment of mine. And yes, I get that I'm putting her in situations you would never see in an 8:00 network TV show. They couldn't possibly and stay on the air. But I do think that, even on the show, we've been shown hints of Sarah using sex to get what she wants from Chuck. The very nature of fanfic is to take the hints we've been given about the characters and extrapolate then into other situations. I believe that I've written my Sarah very consistently throughout these 70 some chapters. I actually think my Sarah is more consistent in this arc than the one on the show. I like her better. Is she exactly the Sarah from the show? It's impossible to say. Both Sarah's don't exist._

_The group speak comment that has my head scratching the most is that this is like Season 3. Huh? Everything in this story that Sarah has done is because she is desperately in love with him and wants to prove that she'll do anything to make him happy. Does that sound like Season 3? Really? Maybe I should go and re-watch it. On second thought… nah._

_So anyway, I'm seriously on the edge of being done with this site. If I get much more vitriol, I'm going to mark the story complete and post the rest on my LiveJournal site. It's not my favorite. But at least there I can control who reads and you can't be an anonymous mean spirited coward._

_A word (I know this is getting long) about Alex. This is not the same Alex we know from the show. We didn't know much about her anyway. But this AU departs from the show well before we knew there was an Alex. I thought about using an original character. I decided to use Alex because we know what she looks like, and Chuck being attracted to her made sense. That is a key part of this. I also like the dynamic that Casey being her dad brings. Any preconceived notion that you have about her character is probably not going to be consistent with her in this story._

**Back to Hell**

x-x-x-x-x

This was exactly the break that Agent Carmichael needed. Maybe it was for the best. Now he wouldn't have to face her again. And yes, it would take some time to get over her. But maybe this was just what was needed. After all, he was a Fulcrum Agent. He had taken an oath. And actually so had she. There was no clause in those oaths that dealt with falling in love.

But that didn't make it one bit easier.

He dialed his phone as he ran to where the boat and jet skis were parked. "Alpha Tango Bravo Three Six Nine," he said as soon as he heard the beep.

Once he entered the correct code he was immediately patched into Fulcrum Operations Command Central. "Identify yourself," the Officer of the Day said.

"Alpha Tango Bravo Three Six Nine," Chuck repeated. "Charles Carmichael."

"Report status," the OD said.

"Acquisition complete," Chuck said. "Repeat, acquisition complete."

"Roger," the OD said. "On my mark turn on your locator. Mark."

"Roger," the OD said. "We have your signal loud and clear. Rendezvous as planned."

Chuck started the jet boat engine. Even over the sound of the powerful engine roaring to life, he could hear the raucous applause in the Operations Room.

"Congratulations, Chuck," the OD said, completely breaking protocol. "It looks like I owe you a beer."

"I'll see you soon."

x-x-x-x-x

It was a long while before Carina could speak and break the wonderful spell she found herself in. Technically her two hours had been up for a few minutes now. Finally she opened her eyes and returned to the living. "So," she said after taking a deep breath. "It's official. You're no longer a virgin. How does it feel?"

"Odd," Sarah admitted with a silly grin. "It's sort of like I felt when I lost my real virginity… relieved… but dirty somehow. Like I had just become a notch on somebody's bedpost."

"You gotta admit," Carina said as they started giggling. "For as much as you're constantly playing the poor victim role, this conquest location is nicer than the back seat of that car back at the Academy Orientation."

"Much nicer," Sarah agreed. "It's ironic. He didn't use cuffs. And yet you were a much gentler deflowerer than that sweet talking jerk. Thank you for that."

"You wanted to learn something about yourself," Carina said. "What did you learn?"

Sarah shot her a sideways glance. "Okay, you were right. Under the right circumstance, recreational sex can be a little fun. I've been a hypocrite. I keep asking Chuck for stuff, and then I make him feel guilty about it. That has to change. If I'm going to tell him that I'm up for anything, then I'd better be able to get up for anything."

"And that's all you learned?" Carina asked skeptically.

Sarah sighed. "You're really going to make me say it, aren't you?" she asked. "Okay, yes. You were right all along. I'm going to be listening to you gloating for the rest of my life. Once we got started I really got into being submissive. So it wasn't as horrible as I feared." Sarah paused for a moment. "So how about you?" she asked. "You were moaning pretty good. Did this notch on your bedpost live up to your imagination?"

"Close enough," Carina sighed. "Thank you. Is there maybe any chance we can do that again someday?"

That got Sarah giggling again. "You're welcome," she said. "I hope you didn't misinterpret me. Making myself get into it is not exactly the same as looking forward to it again. Then again, we've been called CIA whores for ten years now. So who knows what the price tag is going to be?"

And that got Carina giggling even harder. "That's true," she said. "You do know that I'll gladly reciprocate?" she teased. "Maybe I can build up some in store credit. As a whore, I imagine your price tag is going to be pretty expensive. Besides, you're still on fire. And after the impressive effort you just put in, it seems unsporting somehow to let you leave not completely satisfied."

That got Sarah laughing again. "I'll take a rain check, Mistress," she teased as she reached for her pants. "If there is going to be a next time is far more up to my husband than it is me. That's always going to be true. So maybe you should have this discussion with him. If he ever does decide it should happen, I'm cuffing you next time. My head hurts where you were pulling my hair."

"Sorry about that," Carina said as they continued giggling. "What exactly do you think that 'conquest' means?"

"Well," Sarah said as she buttoned her shirt. "I'm afraid your conquest time is up. I have to get back to Chuck."

"Something tells me I'm going to still have several opportunities to be satisfied tonight."

x-x-x-x-x

As Sarah walked up the gangplank to board the Enforcer, she had to admit something. She didn't have a clue what lurid scene she was going to find. She had blocked the thought from her mind until now. After all, she could very well walk in on the scene she had frankly encouraged. Alex on her back moaning as Chuck plowed her, a look of pure lust on his face. That would be worst case.

Sarah gave herself a firm pep talk. Chuck wasn't the bad guy here. He was just giving her what she wanted. She should be happy. So even as much as she didn't want to see him with another woman, especially Alex, she promised him that she was going to set aside her jealousy tonight. She almost demanded that he have sex with Alex right there on that beach. And after that, making feel bad in any way was patently unfair. It was the price she would have to pay to get him comfortable enough to keep asking for things. So whatever she found she told herself to smile sweetly and either wait until they were finished or lose her clothes and join in. Maybe even give him an up close and personnel demonstration of her new skill with Alex assuming Carina's position.

So to say that she was surprised to find Alex alone on the deck, sipping a drink, fully clothed, didn't come close. "Where's Chuck?" she asked.

Alex's face showed her surprise. "I figured he was with you," she said. "As soon as you left, he told me he'd meet me here. He never showed up."

There were several competing emotions raging through Sarah. Naturally there was concern… lots of concern. Chuck had been acting so… well odd, all day. There was also a fair measure of guilt. He was going out of his comfort zone to do things she asked him for… because of her own stupid hang ups. That was clearly messing him up. But then there was… "On the beach," Sarah asked. "Did you guys… umm…"

"Fuck?" Alex coyly finished her awkward question.

Sarah felt the blush rising up her neck. Why would she be embarrassed? She left him on that beach with a beautiful naked woman. She had almost demanded that he have sex with her. So she just nodded.

Alex grinned as she shook her head. "No," she said. "Believe me, I offered as hard as I could without jumping on him. He just wasn't all that interested. He's plainly too hung up on you. It looks like my seducing Chuck Bartowski is going to be a bigger challenge than I thought. That's okay. I've always liked the chase. It can be a long term project."

Yup, then there was that. Relief… pride… with even a little gloating mixed in. She had given him full permission to fulfill his wildest fantasy with a very willing woman he admitted he felt was incredibly attractive. He didn't hesitate because he was worried about any repercussions. She had assured him there wouldn't be any. He didn't do it because he didn't want too. Alex's instincts were right. When push came to shove he wasn't interested. And that meant… wow. And okay, it definitely made her the biggest hypocrite on the planet. She wasn't even sure why. It wasn't what she wanted. But Sarah couldn't keep the silly grin from her face.

Sure, Alex's expectations about any long term project would now need some serious adjustment. She was clearly confused about what Sarah was willing to tolerate. But that misunderstanding could probably be forgiven given the mixed signals they were sending. That potentially rather tense discussion about Sarah's fanatical possessiveness could wait for a calmer time when the sun was shinning. For the first time, she noticed the usb drive that Carlos had left on the table was sticking out of Alex's phone.

Alex clearly misinterpreted Sarah's grin, because hers turned coy. "You missed your calling as a spy,' she said holding up her phone which was displaying one of the raunchiest of Carlos' 'creations.' "You could have made it big as a centerfold. Who took these? Chuck?"

Sarah was in far too good of a mood to be embarrassed. "No," she said. "Carlos is one of the workers. It turns out that he is an amateur photographer. Chuck commissioned this."

"It's unbelievably sexy," Alex sighed. "You look amazing. I never imagined you two were so wild. I have to admit that I'm looking forward to this tonight." She ran her hand up Sarah's arm. "What do you think we should do while we're waiting for him?" she asked coyly. "Maybe we could give him a sexy surprise."

That actually got Sarah laughing. "Wow," she said. "You sure had us all fooled. We were thinking you were this sweet young thing."

Alex's grin broadened. "I am a sweet young thing," she teased. "I'm just a sweet young thing who happens to love having sex… a lot. I love everything about it. I look forward to it… with almost anybody. I always have. I refuse to deny it. I don't think that should label me a slut. But if it does, well, I'll live with it. Joan says it may have something to do with not growing up with a father. Please don't tell dad. I don't want to dump all that guilt on him. He feels bad enough."

That got Sarah laughing harder. "I stand corrected," she said. "I meant a naïve innocent thing. We were afraid of corrupting you. If anything, it looks like you might try corrupting us. So I'll give the girls the good news that the bras that we've been forcing ourselves to wear as to not horrify you are now history. I'm not sure what's going to happen tonight. That's mostly up to Chuck. I assume that you don't want to spend the night with Morgan."

"That jerk," Alex sighed. "It's going to be a while."

"You can stay here on the ship tonight," Sarah said. "I'll show to your room," she added quickly as to not send any unwanted signals. "It's still early. You can go back down to the beach and dance until you want to go to bed."

"I have to go find my husband."

x-x-x-x-x

Ted Roark was grinning ear to ear as he poured Jenifer Bowles a glass of champagne. "Here's to world domination," he said as he lifted his glass in toast.

"Oh my," Bowles said as she drained her glass. "You broke out the really good bottle? I thought you were saving that."

"It's a special occasion," Roark said. "I just talked to Quinn from the ship. They picked up Bartowski. He had the glasses. We now have our own army of Intersects."

"Two Intersects is hardly an army," Bowles grinned.

"Two Intersects is more powerful than any army," Roark replied. "Besides, soon it will be three."

"Thanks for reminding me," Bowles said. "I owe Frost a serious ass kicking. She actually made me become Larkin's girl friend. I trust we find someone else this time."

"You know?" Roark teased. "A lot of woman wouldn't consider that such a horrible assignment. If it makes you feel any better, I just talked to her. She is just now walking without a limp after the ass kicking she got from Agent Walker. You have to admit, that's pretty impressive."

That got Bowles laughing. "You 'talked' to her?" she asked sarcastically. "Or something else?"

"Wow, Jen," Roark replied. "Was that actually jealousy? Refresh my memory here. Which one of us are you actually jealous of?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Ted," Bowles said as she continued laughing. "I was simply making an observation. Not to denigrate your seduction skills or anything, but that slut would fuck a lamp post in exchange for the light." She stopped laughing as she paused for a moment in thought. "This is actually perfect," she finally said. "Justice demands that we set up a rematch, don't you think? If I don't get to kill them, at least I'm owed a little entertainment, right? Watching those two bitches in the ring knocking each other silly would be very entertaining."

Roark joined her laughing as they embraced. "Poor Bartowski," he said. "Who is he going to root for?"

"His estranged wife… or his estranged mother?"

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah stood on the beach with her hands on her hips panting for breath from running. She was honestly getting more and more concerned. She couldn't find Chuck anywhere. Nobody had seen him. Well, Joan talked to him a couple of hours ago. But now there wasn't a trace of him.

Sarah was starting to feel mighty guilty. She was just trying to give him what he wanted, what any man would want. He was just too nice a guy to admit it. And okay, that just made her press him even harder. Had she gone too far? Could he really be this messed up about this? Something was clearly off. He had been acting so different today. Ever since…

Then it hit her. Ignoring the pain in her chest, she ran back to the Enforcer. Thankfully the pen recorder was still in his pants pocket hanging up in the closet. Sarah's hands were shaking as she connected the pen to the playback device.

x-x-x-x-x

The guys were in the middle of their regular night of playing cards when Sarah came bursting into the room. One look told them all that something was seriously wrong.

Sarah didn't hesitate. She stomped over and launched herself directly into the chair where Steven was sitting. They fell together in a heap on the floor. "You son of a bitch!" she yelled as she started swinging. "Your fucking invention. You just had to fuck with people's brains. Zero regard for fucking up people's lives… all in the name of science."

Naturally Steven was no match to fight Sarah, even if he wanted too. Fortunately, she wasn't interested in anything lethal because she had a clear opening and landed several stinging blows. The guys quickly pulled Sarah off before any serious damage was done. Devon was already checking out Steven who was still lying on the floor dazed.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" Casey demanded.

Sarah was still not done fighting. Her eyes had a wild look as she struggled to get free. Truthfully, Josh and Casey had all they could do to keep her controlled.

Devon picked up the paper containing the transcript that Sarah had been holding and went flying as she pummeled Steven.

"Well?" Casey asked expectantly after giving him a chance to read.

"It's Chuck," Devon answered sadly. "It looks like they've manipulated his memories this morning."

"He thinks that he's a Fulcrum Agent."

x-x-x-x-x

For a long while, the room was pure chaos. Morgan had been dispatched to the beach to get the girls. Sarah was still wildly struggling with Josh and Casey to get free, presumably to continue her attack. Devon had determined that nothing was seriously wrong with Steven so he helped him up and to his chair. Frankly, his eyes were still a little glassy.

When the girls came running as one into the room they were stunned. "What happened?" Joey asked. "Sarah, what's wrong?"

Casey immediately took charge. "Fulcrum fucked up Chuck," he said. "They have him believing he's a Fulcrum Agent. His assignment is to get the Intersect glasses. We have to find him. Laura, get on the horn with security."

Joan's face turned white as she slumped into a chair. "He has them," she said, her voice no more than a whisper. "Oh my God. He asked me to give him a set of loaded glasses secretly. He said he had a plan. He asked me to trust him. I'm… so sorry."

Laura still had the phone pressed to her ear. "Security reports that the jet boat left about two hours ago," she said. "They assumed someone was going into town."

Everyone in the room was thinking the same thing. But it was Joey who expressed it. "He's on his way to deliver the glasses," she said.

"Oh fuck," Sarah cried. "Let me go. I have to go after him."

"In the middle of the Atlantic ocean?" Casey asked sarcastically. "With over a two hour head start? Where is your head at? Stop thinking like a worried wife. Calm down a little before I have them tranq you."

"Casey," Sarah said as she started struggling again. "Let me go right fucking now."

Casey nodded to Devon who fished in his bag and after a moment held up a syringe. He walked over to Sarah. "I want to give you something to help you relax," he said gently. "You're overwrought."

"Devon," Sarah spat angrily. "You don't know what you're doing. Chuck needs me. I swear. If you put that needle into my arm, your life is over. When I wake up I'm going to hunt you down and break your fucking neck. I have to go find him."

Ellie stepped up and took the syringe from him. "You can break my neck if you want," she said. "You won't have to hunt me down. I won't run."

"Ellie," Sarah pleaded. "Please. Please don't drug me. Not now. I don't have time for this. I need to find him. Maybe I can take the jet."

"Sorry, Sweetie," Ellie said as she plunged the needle into Sarah's arm. "You're panicked. You're not thinking clearly. This will help."

But it was Carina who stepped up and wrapped her arms around her. "We'll move heaven and earth to get him back for you," she whispered into Sarah's ear. "I promise. Stop worrying and rest while we get some actionable Intel. Then maybe we can figure out what to do." Carina just held Sarah tight until the drug took over and she slumped into her arms.

Devon turned to the guys.

"Let's get her into bed."

x-x-x-x-x

"How is he?" Bowles asked.

"Not good, ma'am," Quinn answered. "I'm afraid she really got into his head."

"Will he be adequate operationally?" Bowles asked. "A lot is riding on this."

"I think so," Quinn answered. "He still understands his duty. He's just a little heartbroken."

"Can I help?" Bowles asked. "I offered him a reward. If it would help the mission, I'd hold my nose and pay off."

Quinn fought back the urge to laugh. When you were dreaming of sex with Sarah Walker, Jenifer Bowles as a substitute would fall somewhat… short. But telling her that might be fatal. "I don't think so, ma'am," he said as diplomatically as he could. "That would probably be the worst thing at this point. It might add some more guilt."

"Okay," Bowles said. "If fucking him won't work, maybe we need to try something else. I know just what to do."

"We need to find Larkin ASAP."

x-x-x-x-x

The first thing that Sarah noticed when she woke up in bed was that the room was dark. The second thing she noticed was that her right wrist was securely fastened to a long chain that was attached to the wall. "Where am I?" she groaned as she struggled to gain her bearings. To her surprise, her question was answered.

"You're in your room," Carina said, sitting in a chair in the darkness. "In your new cottage. We don't want you to sleep on the ship all alone any more. You're safer in here where we can protect you. How are you feeling?"

Sarah ignored the question. She jerked on the chain. "Why am I secured?" she asked. "Release me." She paused for effect. "Right now."

"Sorry," Carina said. "You know how much I hate sedating you, keeping you in chains. I feel horrible. But we all agree. This is for your own good. It's because we love you. What would happen if you were on your own is fairly predictable. The last thing we want to worry about right now is chasing your panicked ass around the globe. We have enough problems. I'll release you when you convince me that you're thinking rationally and back on the team. Please don't try and fool me. I know you too well."

"How long have I been out?" Sarah asked. "Where's Chuck?"

"About twenty hours," Carina answered. "We don't know exactly where Chuck is. Steven was able to access some satellite history. The jet boat rendezvoused with a ship. The ship then made a bee line to Venezuela. It docked about an hour ago. It's there now."

"Let me go," Sarah said excitedly. "We'll go look for him. We can take the jet."

Carina just shook her head. "Josh and Joey are already in route," she said. "They are going to get on that ship and find out anything they can. They went to San Juan and chartered a flight. We don't want to use the jet. Who knows who is watching us? The last thing we want to do is to tip off whoever is behind this that we know. That's our only advantage."

"What else are we doing?" Sarah asked?

"Casey and Laura are tracking down your new friend Carlos," Carina said. "The fact that he didn't show up for work this morning probably isn't a coincidence. Laura is particularly going to make sure that he doesn't have a good day. I've never seen that look on her face." She paused for a long moment. "Joan called Beckman," she sighed. "No big surprise, she freaked out. Other than that, she wasn't much help. She has her own problems. I'm afraid I have some more somewhat less than great news."

"She sent Bryce. He is here. He wants to talk to you."

x-x-x-x-x

Agent Carmichael had fairly mixed emotions. There was pride. Actually there was lots of pride. After all, he was a professional Fulcrum Agent. He had just completed an incredibly difficult mission. Everyplace he walked he was getting slaps on the back from the men and long hugs from the women. He was a genuine hero.

But there was the other side. How could you possibly miss someone so much? After a single day? It was pathetic. And they were clearly trying hard to get their latest hero over it. He already had several not so subtle offers from women offering to do their best to make him happy. But the truth was, that simply made it worse.

"Hi, Chuck. I've really missed you."

He was so caught up in feeling sorry for himself that he didn't notice her approach. All he could do for a long time was to stare into her face in wonder. How could she possibly be here? Finally after several attempts he could get the word out.

"Mom?"

x-x-x-x-x


	8. The Wet T Shirt Contest

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

_Okay. I promised sappy romance. You hung in there through the dark part. Maybe it's time to pay off a little._

_I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

**The Wet T Shirt Contest**

x-x-x-x-x

"Did Frost's pep talk work?" Roark asked. "We really need to get moving."

"Yes, sir," Quinn replied. "He seems a lot better after talking to her. It should last for a while anyway."

"Good," Roark said. "You understand your assignment?"

Yesterday Quinn would have simply answered with a simple 'yes, sir'. But he was now the most powerful person in the world. He was doing all of the dirty work. Why should he grovel? "We've sure gone over it enough times," he said sarcastically with a grin.

If Roark took offense at the sarcasm, he didn't show it. "Good," he said. "Proceed as planned. As soon as your team has accomplished your objective, report."

"It's time to show then an example of our new power."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah tugged at the chain that had her helplessly attached to the wall. "Okay, Carina," she sighed. "It looks like I have no choice. I'm sure not going to talk to Bryce here in my bedroom dressed in only my panties. She lifted the sheet. "Oh, I forgot," she said sarcastically and with zero humor in her voice. "You kept my panties as a conquest souvenir. So we'll play this your way. What is it going to take to get you to release me?"

Carina took full note of her tone. "Nobody likes treating you like this," she said softly. "Especially me. We just need some assurance that Lone Wolf Agent Walker isn't going to go all bat-shit crazy on us. We have enough problems. What will it take for me to release you? I'll accept your word. I know that you would never go back on a promise to me. But here's the deal. For the duration of this crisis, I've been assigned as your handler. We don't make a move until I sign off. Agreed?"

"Carina, be reasonable," Sarah said, her voice taking a pleading quality. "Chuck is out there someplace. Who knows what they have him doing? He's in grave danger. Are you really expecting me to sit here and do nothing?"

"Of course not," Carina said. "Sarah, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Take a deep breath and listen to me for a minute. You may not believe this, but you don't want him back a bit more than I do… than every single person here does. Of course we're going to do every single thing that we possibly can. We all feel the desperation you're feeling. But we have to be smart about it. Right now, you're not smart, you're emotional. Surely as the best field agent in the whole world, you'd have to admit that is a very bad place for an agent to be. It's the best way to get everyone, including Chuck, killed."

"I guess," Sarah sighed.

"Thank you," Carina said. "So until such time as you prove that you can think rationally about this, I'm going to be smart for both of us. Right now Fulcrum doesn't know that you taped their conversation. That means we know what they did to Chuck. That is our only advantage. We're going to wait until we have a plan with a reasonable chance of success. Then you and I and the rest of the family is going to go in guns blazing and shoot anybody who gets the slightest bit in our way right between the fucking eyes and not bother to ask any questions. And after we get him back, we're going to hunt down whoever is responsible, call on your particular genius to cause pain, and make their last few hours of life as fucking hellish as we possibly can. But for right now, that means we wait as patiently as we possibly can until Orion gives us that plan. Agreed?"

Sarah paused for a long moment. "Agreed," she finally said softly. "That doesn't mean I'm going to like it."

"Of course," Carina said as she moved to unlock Sarah's cuff. "Nobody likes it. Sarah, you're soon going to find out that every single person here is just as frantic to find him as you are. They all love him. They all love you. Having said that, you do have to admit there is a certain irony in this situation."

"It's usually you that is giving me the lecture about being reckless."

x-x-x-x-x

When Sarah hurriedly got dressed and walked with Carina to the common room it felt basically like a morgue. Steven was in the communications room frantically pouring over intercepts looking for clues. Josh and Joey were on their assignment as were Casey and Laura. Nobody knew where Bryce was, and frankly nobody cared enough to search. Alex didn't particularly want to be in the same room with Morgan so Ellie took her down to the beach. There was the customary bonfire. But there would be no dancing for the foreseeable future. That basically left Devon and Morgan holding down the fort.

"What's our status?" Sarah quickly asked.

Devon just looked at her.

"Look," Sarah said with a sigh. "Devon, I'm sorry that I threatened you when you were just trying to help me. I don't blame you for being pissed."

Devon just continued looking at her. "I thought that we had an understanding," he said.

"We do," Sarah said sadly. "I fucked it up. I get that. I wasn't thinking clearly at the time. I know that's not an excuse. I'll find a way to apologize better as soon as this is resolved. But can we please set this aside until Chuck is safe? I promise that you don't have anything to fear from me. I'm intense. But I would never actually hurt you."

"Understand something," Devon said, maybe not angrily but definitely with an edge. "We have nothing that needs to be set aside. Everybody gets that you're intense. When are you going to get it through your thick head that is a big reason why we love you so intensely? So quit apologizing and get with the fucking program. We're on the same team."

Sarah felt relieved. He was letting her off the hook. "Yes, sir," she said. "100% agreed. Thank you. What's our status?"

"Here's what we know," Devon said. "Josh just checked in. I'm afraid the ship turned out to be a dead end. They 'talked' to the captain. Joey worked him over pretty good until they were confident he was telling them the truth. It was just a private ship that someone chartered. They paid him in cash. There were about ten men. He remembers picking up the man who was clearly Chuck from the jet boat. As soon as they got to port, they all disappeared without a trace. They are on their way back here. Josh said to expect them around midnight."

"I was afraid of that," Carina said sadly. "Whoever is behind this knows what they're doing. They are covering their tracks."

"It would be a good idea for you two to maybe talk to Joey when she gets back," Devon said. "She's almost as panicked as you are. Josh said that he had to physically pull her off the ship's captain when he didn't answer her quick enough.

While they were talking, Casey and Laura burst into the room.

"Any news?" Sarah asked anxiously.

"I'm afraid not," Laura said. "Carlos is gone without a trace. We fully vetted all of the workers. Somehow we must have gotten bad information."

"That's also not a surprise," Carina said. "Whoever this is, they are clearly professional and connected enough to slip someone into his position with a fake identity."

At that point Steven came out of the communications room. When he saw Sarah, he hesitated at the door.

All Sarah could do was to stare at him. He had the good beginning to a couple of black eyes and one side of his face was noticeably bruised. She could feel her lip quivering. She knew that if she tried to speak, she was going to start blubbering.

She was quickly proven right. "Dad," she said as she started sobbing. "I'm so, so sorry that I hit you. I don't know what came over me."

"You don't have to apologize," Steven said sadly. "You were right. My invention has messed people up… messed my own son up. I wish I had never created it."

Sarah stepped up to Steven who was trapped against the door and threw her arms around him. She just stood there sobbing for a long moment. Finally, Steven did the only thing that he really could. He put his arms around her and rubbed her back. "No," Sarah said through the sobs that were still racking her. "I was wrong." She took a long moment to control herself.

"Look," Sarah finally said. "Whoever invented the knife did a great thing. It helped people to survive. It helped them to hunt more effectively, helped them to build shelter. Then someone figured out that they could use that invention to kill people. So it turned into a weapon. But you can't blame the knife… or its inventor. I'm really, really sorry."

Laura stepped up and put her arms around both of them. "Of course you're not to blame for this," she said as she rubbed both backs lovingly. "Where's Joan?"

"She's still in bed," Steven said sadly. "She pretty depressed. She can't get over giving Chuck the glasses."

Carina sighed. "I tried to talk to her. It didn't do much good. I'll try again."

Sarah released Steven with a final loving pat. "No," she said. "You have to stay here and be the smart one, remember?"

"I've got this one."

x-x-x-x-x

Joan's eyes were wide with fear when she saw that it was Sarah in her room.

In spite of the ridiculously horrible situation, Sarah couldn't help the sad smile at Joan's reaction. "Don't worry," she said soothingly as she sat on the bed. "I'm not here to gut you like a fish."

"Why not?" Joan asked sadly. "I have it coming. I handed Fulcrum the Intersect glasses on a silver platter. Who knows who used them… what evil is now unleashed upon the world?"

"Not really," Sarah said. "Let's correct the record. You didn't deliver them to Fulcrum. You delivered them to Chuck, someone you love and trust, after he asked you for them."

"He played me," Joan said sadly.

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "He played you like a video game. You fell for it. But, Joan, listen to me. Do you really think that there is a person on this island who wouldn't have fallen for it?"

"Maybe not," Joan said.

"Of course not," Sarah said. "When Chuck Bartowski plays the 'trust me' card, there is almost nothing that anybody wouldn't do for him… me more than most. You can't feel bad about that. I'm the one who owes you an apology."

"I'm not too happy with you," Joan admitted. "Steven feels horrible. We both do."

"I know," Sarah said softly. "Striking him was completely unacceptable. I really don't have an excuse. I feel about an inch tall. I think we've made up. But whatever it takes to fully apologize… to him and to you… I'm more than willing to do it."

Suddenly Joan had Sarah wrapped in a bear hug. "You just did it," she said. "Thank you." Sarah really had little choice but to put her arms around Joan and hold her right back. They just stayed in their warm embrace for a long moment.

"Ah, my two favorite exes are in the same bed getting ready to go for it. I have to admit, I've pictured this exact scenario more than once. Please don't let me stop you. By all means, continue."

Sarah sagged into Joan's embrace. Could this day possibly get any fucking worse? "Bryce," she said in frustration. "What do you want?"

"I'm here to help," Bryce insisted. "Let's face it, Sarah. I'm the only one who can find him and get him back for you."

Sarah didn't turn and face him. "Okay, Bryce," she said. "You're probably right. I would appreciate that. Thank you."

"Are we going to do this here?" Bryce asked. "I really wasn't kidding about having thoughts of this scenario. Based solely upon the last conversation I had with her, I'm fairly sure that Joan would be more than willing. Or would you rather go to your room for some… alone time first?"

Sarah finally broke her embrace and turned to face him. "Bryce," she sighed. "What are you talking about?"

"My payment, of course," Bryce said. "Don't worry. I'm not asking for much. Just the things you already owe me anyway. That seems more than fair. I only have a couple of hours to spare so we'd better get right down to it. Joan, are you in or out?"

"Bryce," Sarah pleaded. "Please don't be like this."

"You owe me," Bryce said firmly. "You played me for a chump for two long years. Justice demands that you make this right. And let's face it. We're finally in a position where you need me. This is my one and only chance to collect. And since you're really not a reliable payer, I'm not doing anything until I get at least a good faith down payment. Those are my terms. Take them or leave them."

Joan had heard enough. "You arrogant, egocentric, sonofabitch," she ranted. "Take your fucking God Complex somewhere else. You really don't know who you're talking to, do you? Give me five minutes and I'll whip up some flash cards that will instantly make you a Parisian gay prostitute with an overactive libido. After a couple of months I'll bring you back and let you live with the memory of how many times you eagerly hit your knees for any stud with twenty five dollars and a hard on… for the rest of your life. There won't be enough mouthwash in the entire world to erase that taste. Do we understand each other?"

Sarah didn't have it in her to laugh… not in this horrible situation. But she did make a mental note to remember Joan's threat and tease her about it someday.

Bryce didn't answer. But Joan's point was clearly made. He turned and left without a word.

"This is a fucking nightmare," Sarah sighed.

"Don't worry," a clearly still pissed off Joan said as she threw the covers off defiantly. "We don't need pretty boy."

"We're going to get him back."

x-x-x-x-x

Beckman opened the door to the White House Situation room cautiously. She knew full well that she was about to have her ass handed to her. And she certainly wasn't disappointed.

"What is the situation?" the President demanded before she was even completely in the room.

"We currently have two Tomahawk Missiles in flight," Beckman replied. "They were launched from a battleship docked at the Naval Air Station in Key West. If they keep their current trajectory, they are headed out to sea."

"What is their payload?" the President demanded.

"They are both specials," Beckman replied sadly. "Each has a twenty kiloton warhead. We're not sure if they are armed. But two minutes after launch we received this message sent to NORAD Central Command in Utah on what was thought to be a secure link." She handed the President a piece of paper.

_NAq$W3V2_

_GrH4F6Q!_

_Lucky guess?_

_Next time they get armed._

"Don't tell me," the President sighed. "They have the correct codes."

"Yes, sir," Beckman said. "I'm afraid it's true. They could have armed the warheads. The message implied that they aren't armed this time. It sounded like a warning."

"Let's hope so," the President said. He turned to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. "Get a recovery operation underway," he said. "We can't have nuclear warheads lying around in the open ocean."

"Yes, sir," he said crisply. "Mr. President, I'm afraid that's not our only problem. Every military in the world saw that launch and are tracking our birds as we speak. At best we've just seriously violated our missile test ban treaty. Five minutes ago the Russians went on full alert. The Chinese are most likely not far behind. If they feel that we don't have control of our nuclear fleet…" He left the point hanging. "Perhaps we should go to DefCon 3 just to be cautious."

"But we clearly don't have control of our nuclear fleet," the President growled. "Execute the DefCon 3 order immediately. We have some explaining to do… like who did this and why."

He turned to where Beckman was still standing. "Get me some answers," he said with his voice raised. "Before someone takes advantage of this and we're in open nuclear war."

"Right fucking now."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah stared at her ceiling in the darkened room that had become her new bedroom. It sure didn't feel like her new home. Not without… "Chuck, where are you?" she sighed in frustration to the empty room. The term 'bedroom' had a definite irony. She hadn't slept for over two hours at a time since this nightmare began. It was by far the worst two weeks of her life. And the worst part was they weren't a bit closer to finding Chuck.

Oh, Orion could track the events as well as any military could. They saw almost live the similar missile launches from the Sub docked in San Diego, the Italian Battleship, and the British Base. They could see the surveillance feeds clearly showing Chuck in the control room. They even saw and identified Nickolas Quinn as the other Intersect. But it was always after the fact… far too late to do anything about it. Two Intersects working in tandem were plainly more than a match for any security. Ten minutes after each launch the two Intersects simply disappeared into the night.

One of the first blackmail demands was the surrender of three U.S. and NATO battleships. Dad's voice was obviously tense as he relayed the grim news that Fulcrum forces were now in control of three ships somewhere in the world's oceans. That meant they really no longer needed an Intersect to launch nuclear weapons. They had direct control of a couple hundred. They had established a no fly and no surveillance zone for a few thousand square miles in the Atlantic Ocean next to Venezuela. That meant no satellite coverage for that entire area. That blinded even Orion. Those ships could be anywhere in that zone.

But all that had happened in the first ten days or so. For the past three days there hadn't been a peep.

For Agent Walker, patience wasn't exactly her strength. But Carina held firm. Until they had a clear plan, they weren't going anywhere. And they weren't even close to that. So that meant waiting… and worrying.

And that wasn't the only problem. Beckman was getting more and more frantic. Let's face it. They were talking about a potential nuclear holocaust. All of the NATO world powers had similar problems. But it would be a perfect opportunity for someone to get aggressive and blame it on the U.S. The gloves were coming off. They were getting desperate. And desperate people were very dangerous.

Not only that, Bryce was still here. Beckman demanded that the only Intersect in their control be in a position to protect Orion. So they were stuck with him. And he was getting more and more aggressive. He made sure to stay clear of Joan. But he was always popping up with more lurid disgusting suggestions of what he would accept for his down payment. They hoped that Bryce wouldn't use the Intersect to force her into anything. And so far he had always allowed her to eventually twist out of his grasp after coping the obligatory feel. The computer models thankfully didn't indicate his God Complex would easily lead him to resort to physical force. After all, he was having far too much fun with the physiological kind. He wanted to break her and obtain her surrender. But the play ravage session with Chuck the other day proved how defenseless she'd be if he did decide to get physical. If it came to that, Sarah had already decided not to fight. She couldn't win anyway. She'd just wait until he was sleeping… and get revenge. But even that would be horrible.

This was messed up, on so many different levels.

She was so involved in her thoughts that she didn't see him until he was standing at the foot of the bed. "Bryce!" she shouted. Sarah pulled the sheet up to her neck and used it as cover while she reached down and grabbed the tranq pen that Joan had given her to keep under her pillow. She kept it in her fist hidden under the sheet so Bryce couldn't see it. They had hoped to never use it. It was only as a last desperate line of defense. But it didn't hurt to be safe. It was a lot better than being raped. "I'm warning you. I'm married. I'm in love with my husband. I owe you nothing. I have zero interest in any of the disgusting things you're constantly suggesting. Now get out of here before you get hurt."

"Is Bryce bothering you?"

Sarah was so surprised that she couldn't speak for a long moment. She sat up with a start. "Chuck," she said. "What are you doing here?"

Chuck paused for a long moment. "That's actually an excellent question," he said. "I know how stupid this is going to sound. It sounds stupid even to me. I just… look I just wanted to see you one more time."

Sarah couldn't see him very well in the dark, but his voice sounded strained. "It doesn't sound stupid at all," she said. "In fact it sounds pretty damn sweet. Are you in pain? You sound hurt."

"They took the governor," Chuck said sadly. "They sent me to capture you. I'm not going back. That means I only have a couple of days left. But I don't want to die without telling you something."

Sarah's head was swimming. He was obviously messed up and not thinking clearly. The last thing she wanted to do was to spook him into running. So she patted the bed next to her. "Okay," she said. "Come and sit next to me and we'll talk."

Chuck didn't move. "I just figured out something," he said. "I know all about the enemy agent thing. And, trust me. I know how stupid this is going to sound. But you deserve to know. I tried my best to fight it. I just can't. I think I'm in love with you."

Sarah couldn't speak for a long, long moment.

Even as Agent Carmichael, it wouldn't be Chuck if he didn't misinterpret her silence. "I understand," he said sadly. "You thought I was Bryce. You were just saying that stuff about being married to get him to leave. But please tell me truth. Before you found out that I was as an enemy agent, were any of those feelings real?"

Sarah finally found her voice. "I disagree with the premise of your question," she said as calmly as she could. "I did think you were Bryce. And I was telling him the exact truth. I don't think anything. I'm absolutely certain. I've loved you from almost the very first day we met. I love you sitting here now. I'll love you tomorrow and next week and next year. I'll love you on the day I die. Here is the honest, no bullshit, straight up truth. You wouldn't have to capture me. You're my very life. If the only way I could be with you was to get up out of this bed, go with you, and join Fulcrum. Say the word and I'll do it without thinking. I'd betray everything I've ever stood for. And I'd do it gladly. Because I'd get to be with you. Chuck, these last two weeks have been hell, the worst I've ever felt, worse than I ever imagined. The CIA and Fulcrum? They can both go fuck themselves. Just please don't leave me again."

Sarah patted the bed next to her again. "Please come and sit down next to me," she pleaded. "We'll talk this through. We're a pretty good team. We've been in worse spots. We can figure something out. Please?"

Finally Chuck gave in. He stepped over and sat on the bed where Sarah had patted. "I'd almost forgotten how beautiful you are," he said.

Sarah suddenly realized that she was naked and sitting there fully topless. It was maybe not the smartest thing to do with Bryce being around. But over the past few months they quickly discovered that even when they wore pajamas to bed, they never lasted long. For a while, Sarah tried wearing one of Chuck's t-shirts. But even that compromise didn't last long. They frankly found that they liked sleeping naked and stopped even pretending otherwise. Since Chuck had been gone, Sarah tried putting on her nightgown a couple of times. But it always quickly hit the floor in frustration. She thought about pulling up the sheet. This wasn't the time or place to confuse any issues. But she decided that would be silly. "That's sweet," she said. "Thank you."

When he reached over to hug her, Sarah plunged the tranq pen into his neck. The hurt look on his face simply broke her heart. "I know that looked like a betrayal to you," she said. "I promise it's not. Everything I just said is absolutely true. I'm on your side. I'll explain it to you when you wake up. I love you."

Sarah held her husband as tenderly as she could until he went limp into her arms. Then she gently guided him down to the bed. She couldn't start crying in this situation. She just couldn't. Seconds counted here. She knew that. And if she started crying right now, she might never stop. But the look of betrayal was simply more than she could take. She couldn't resist giving him a loving kiss. Then she went and pushed the panic button that everyone had in their room. The alert blast coming from every speaker on the island would wake the dead. After she was sure she had everyone's attention, she keyed the intercom that would allow her to speak to the entire island. "Code Red. Team Bartowski to the meeting room," she said. "I need Casey, Devon, and Josh in my room."

"Right fucking now."

x-x-x-x-x

When Joan and Ellie finally came into the common room, Sarah was all over them. Fortunately, Ellie quickly recognized her panicked look. "Don't worry, sweetie," she said. "Joan's encoded cards worked like a charm. Chuck Bartowski is back with us. He's going to be fine physically. Emotionally he's sort of a basket case. He's feeling plenty guilty. You're going to have some serious work to do to fix that."

The news was almost too good to be true. "When can I see him?" Sarah asked anxiously.

"He's sleeping right now," Ellie said. "He's totally exhausted. Poor guy has been through a lot. He looked pretty rough. But after Joan put the governor on him, he quickly improved. I don't think other than that he has any medical issues. I gave him a little something to help him rest. He's going to be sleeping for a few hours."

"Maybe you should try and get some sleep yourself," Carina suggested. "Tomorrow is going to be a long day… for all of us but especially for you. We'll wake you as soon as he's awake."

Sarah just shook her head. "I'd never be able to sleep," she said. She slumped into one of the overstuffed chairs. Her eyes were noticeably glassy but she wasn't crying. Frankly there weren't any tears left in her. "I can't get over the look on his face when I tranqed him," she said softly. "He thought I was betraying him."

Casey came into the room just finishing a leftover prime rib sandwich. Nobody had much of an appetite lately, which meant there were plenty of leftovers. And Casey found himself starved. He turned to Sarah. "I thought we'd be scraping you off the ceiling," he teased.

"Why?" Sarah asked. "Yes, I'm glad he's back. But he's still messed up."

"Yeah," Casey agreed. "He is. You're going to have to fix that. It might take you an hour. You might even have to soil some sheets. But that's not what I'm talking about."

Casey just laughed at her dazed, confused look and turned to Carina. "I forgot," he said. "You're temporarily the brains of the team. Maybe you can explain to your asset what just happened here. A hardcore Fulcrum agent defected because he found that he was in love… with a CIA Agent. You'd have to admit, that doesn't happen every day. He faced certain, very painful death just to tell her that he loved her. Now she isn't close to being the most secure woman in the world. Maybe you could point out to her that whatever silly insecurities she might have had in the past, now for the whole rest of her life she'll know something with absolute certainty. He came back for her. When push came to shove he'd rather die than be without her. He fell head over heels in love with his sworn enemy when it was the very last thing he should have done. Maybe it's not letters written with fire in the sky… but it's pretty damn close. Even I find that fairly impressive. The Sarah I know would be dancing around the room. In fact her constant gloating about it would quickly become annoying."

Sarah looked anxiously at Carina grinning. "I gotta admit, Blondie," Carina said. "For as emotionally stunted as the big guy normally is… that was actually a lucid argument. Please try and temper the gloating a little. I agree with him. That will quickly get very annoying."

Suddenly the truth hit Sarah like a bolt of lightening and the grin slowly spread across her face. "You're right," she sobbed. It turned out that she was wrong about not having any more tears left. "He came back to me." She launched herself into Casey's arms before he could react sobbing in relief.

As it turned out, Sarah wasn't the only emotional ex spy in the room. Joey quickly joined Sarah on Casey's other side, sobbing in relief almost as hard. Laura sorta split the difference between the other two.

Carina stood there watching the sobbing gaggle for a long moment. Crying wasn't her thing. It was a sign of weakness. So why were there tears streaming down her face? "Oh, fuck it,' she finally said as she threw herself into the fray.

Sarah actually cried harder than ever before in her life as all of the horrible emotions of the past fortnight came crashing out. "He came back to me," she sobbed.

Naturally Casey had something of a reputation to uphold. But he suddenly found himself comforting four sobbing bad ass super spies all at once. His gruff, most would say snarky, demeanor belied the fact that he had his huge arms wrapped around them. Truth be told, he wasn't making much effort to hide that he was holding all four rather lovingly and tighter than they were him as they, and everyone in the room cried together. There really was only one thing for him to say. "You're getting my t-shirt wet."

Suddenly that struck Sarah as funny and she started giggling through her tears. Naturally that got the other girls laughing. The relief in the room quickly morphed into giddiness. So now instead of comforting sobbing spies, Casey was forced into an even more disgusting duty. He was surrounded by giggling spies each trying to out-silly the others.

Sarah was laughing so hard that she had to keep clinging to him to keep from falling. It was perhaps the very best feeling in the world.

"He came back to me."

x-x-x-x-x


	9. Soul Mates

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

_I'm not above using the occasional misleading chapter title. But this one is pretty self explanatory._

_Okay. Still not enough sappy romance? Don't worry, I have lots more._

_I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

**Soul Mates**

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was sitting by the bed, engaged in one of her favorite activities. She was holding her husband's hand watching him sleep. And maybe some of the pure giddiness from last night had worn off from seeing the tension in his face as he uneasily slept. But the panic was long gone. Of course they still had problems. But this was now fixable. He was here. He was safe. He was Chuck Bartowski again. In the grand scheme of things nothing else really mattered all that much. She was feeling so good that she was actually able to get in a couple of hours of sleep herself.

Finally his eyes popped open… and just as quickly filled with tears. "Please," Chuck said as he turned away so she wouldn't see his tears. "Go away. I can't face you right now. I feel too horrible. This is too hard. I've been so awful."

"I'd do anything you asked me," Sarah said as she got up to sit on the bed next to him and rubbed his arm lovingly. "I hope you know that. But I'm afraid that I can't do that for you. For one thing, I'm not leaving your side… ever again. We need to talk. And you know me. I rip the bandage right off and get the pain over with. So roll over, look at me, and let's deal with this as the mature, loving, married couple that we are."

To his credit, Chuck did roll over and face her.

Sarah looked at his face of utter desolation. "Okay, sweetie," she said trying hard to maintain her composure. "I'm trying hard to keep it together. But if I have to look at you looking all devastated for much longer, I'm going to start bawling. And if that happens, it's going last for a long, long time. And that means it will take a lot longer to fix this. So let's take a breath. It's not that bad."

"I betrayed you," Chuck said. "That's unforgivable."

"No you didn't," Sarah said firmly. "Not even close. Don't ever say those words again. It's absolutely not true. Get that nasty thought out of your head right now and don't ever let it back in. You didn't do anything of the sort. Agent Carmichael did. He's not with us any longer. He was a different person than you are… a pure creation of Fulcrum. Anything he did while he was with them was pure manipulation. A byproduct of that curse you've been carrying around in your head for the past two years. You can't possibly be held accountable for anything Agent Carmichael did for Fulcrum."

"I'm talking about what I did to you," Chuck protested.

"So am I," Sarah said. "Let's talk about that. You can't feel guilty about any of those things either. That wasn't my husband. It would be totally unfair of me to try and hold him to our marriage vows. And even Agent Carmichael only did what I'd been asking him to do. If anybody is to blame for any of that, it's me."

"So," Chuck said skeptically. "You're not mad at me? It's okay to be honest about that, isn't it? You should be mad at me. I'm mad at me."

Sarah had to again pause for a moment to gather her composure. "I'm so, so, so not mad at you," she finally said. "I'm not even sure how you could possibly think that. I'm just glad you're back."

Chuck quickly sat up and grabbed her. He didn't say a single word. Words weren't necessary. In fact at this point they would have gotten in the way. He just held her as tightly as he possibly could.

Sarah couldn't speak for a long while. She just wrapped her arms around him, melted into him, and squeezed him right back until she could feel his soft sobs fade. "For one thing, I'm far too relieved to see you again to feel much of anything except pure joy," she finally said. "Please stop being mad at yourself. That's simply not appropriate. Nobody is mad at you, especially not me. Besides, you just gave me the best present I've ever gotten in my whole life. You proved to anybody who bothered to look that you love me in a way that nobody can ever deny again, even me with my stupid insecurities. You came back. Oh my God, Chuck. Sweetie, if you make me talk about how great that makes me feel much longer I'm going to start bawling again."

Chuck finally released his death grip enough to look at her closely. "You look tired," he said.

"I am tired," Sarah said as she stood up and pulled her shirt over her head. "It's been a long hard two weeks. You're tired too. You still need to get some sleep. That's why you're going to slide over and snuggle with me while we take a nap."

Well, how could Chuck possibly object to that? Soon they were in their normal position. Chuck wrapped his arm around her lovingly.

"I've really missed you," Sarah sighed as she started rubbing his stomach.

Chuck watched as her hand drifted lower and lower. He grabbed her just as it was starting to slide under the waist band of his boxers.

"You're too tired?" Sarah asked, trying hard to hide her disappointment. "It's okay. Sex can wait until we're better rested. I was just hoping…"

"It's not really that," Chuck said softly. "I can't ever imagine being too tired to make love with you. I want to get some things on the table first. I know that when I was Carmichael I asked you for something with Alex. You need to know… I want to make sure that you know… I feel horrible about that. I don't know what to do to get that unpleasant thought of me and another woman out of your head. I would never, ever do anything like that. I'm going to have to face her soon and apologize. This is so messed up."

Sarah couldn't keep the grin from her face. "You're not going to stop feeling guilty about this until you have me bawling, are you?" she teased. "Well, I guess I should be happy. It proves conclusively that I have my husband back. But I really need for you to clear your head and honestly listen to me. Can you do that?"

"Of course," Chuck said.

"Nothing is messed up," Sarah insisted. "I promise. Not even close. Not even a little bit. Now I want to fully explain to you why, but that would take some time. I'd prefer to wait until after we are better rested. So I'm going to ask you to just trust me for a couple of hours. Consider it an act of faith. Can you do that for me?"

"You know that you never have to ask me that question," Chuck said.

"I know," Sarah said still grinning as the hand that was rubbing his stomach slid into his boxers. "For right now I'd like to find a way to tell my husband how much I've missed him. Any ideas?"

Suddenly Chuck was kissing her. And sure, Sarah was already on fire. But Chuck taking the lead definitely poured some gasoline on it. For a long, long time their tongues danced until Chuck finally rolled them over so that she was on her back. There really wasn't much in the way of foreplay. That could wait for a calmer time.

"I love you," Sarah whispered just as she could feel him slip inside her. She quickly arched her back to match his powerful yet gentle strokes… and two long weeks of frustration were finally over.

"You always come up with the good ideas."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah really didn't want to wake up. She was far to content. She wanted to stay in his arms forever. It actually felt like the rest of the world didn't even exist. But she knew that the reality was that the rest of the world did exist. And since the island with their family had a clear bull's eye painted on it, they would have to deal with this. So she forced her eyes open. She was surprised to see Chuck fully dressed sitting on the side of the bed staring at her. "Where did you go?" she asked sleepily.

"I've been talking to Dad," Chuck said. "Filling him in on what I know. He was able to fill in some gaps for me too." Then he paused for a moment. "I have to kill them," he sighed. "I have to go back and kill them. I don't want to give you the wrong idea. I'm still Chuck. I promise. I'm not a killer. But it's the only way. I… Sarah I have to stop them. Once they can act openly, this island is their first target. You're never going to be safe until they are dead… not in prison… in body bags. I don't know how long I'm going to be gone."

Sarah forced herself to fully wake up. "No, you're not," she said, probably a lot more harshly than she intended. "YOU aren't going anyplace or doing anything. WE are going to kill them. Do you really think I'm going to let you out of my sight ever again? No fucking way. Whatever we do, we're going to do together."

Chuck just shook his head. "It's too dangerous," he said. "You don't know what I know. The Ring is ten times more powerful than we thought. Fulcrum? Volkoff? They were just puppets. Ted Roark and Jenifer Bowles are going to rule the world."

That got a smile. "Aren't you being a little melodramatic?" Sarah asked.

"I'm not," Chuck insisted. "I wish I was. They have a plan. And it's going to work."

"Let's let Beckman take care of this," Sarah said. "The bitch must be good for something. You know where they are. She can send a squadron of stealth bombers and blow them to hell. We'll have her make Venezuela into a nice big parking lot. Problem solved."

"That wouldn't work," Chuck said sadly. "You're vastly underestimating them. For one thing Beckman isn't going to be allowed to do anything. You have to get out of your head that this is just another big bad. They have been working on this plan for years. It's sophisticated and well thought out. The Ring has people established in very high positions in virtually every government in the world. If anybody even tries to plan to do something offensive the Ring would know about it long before the Stealth Bomber pilots were even in the briefing room. That country's capital has been promised a real good look at a mushroom cloud. Roark's already proven to them that he can do that. Soon he will use that very real threat to install puppet governments everywhere. He'll be the de facto emperor of the world. Venezuela will become the world's capital. Even the few governments that he doesn't control will be surrounded with a thousand nukes pointed at them. They will quickly surrender."

"Okay," Sarah said. "We'll go kill him. We'll let Casey do it. He hasn't killed anyone in a while. He's getting kinda antsy. Again, problem solved."

"How are we going to do that?" Chuck asked. "Even I don't know exactly where he is. They haven't allowed me to see him. I've only talked to him on the phone. And even if I did, killing Roark wouldn't be good enough. One of his generals would just take over. They have two completely separate underground command centers. They are in the process of moving the nukes from the ships to various locations controlled by those centers. Either of them could survive an outside attack and still launch their missiles. The ships will soon be just a decoy. They are just sitting someplace in the ocean with a skeleton crew waiting for the attack that will never come. Dad confirmed what I feared. Even he doesn't know where the nukes are. Without satellite coverage he's as blind as the rest of the world. Nobody knows exactly where they are enough to attack them even if they could plan something without then knowing. Either of those command centers could nuke a hundred cities. No one would risk that."

Chuck paused for a long moment to gather his composure. "I've fucked everything up," he sighed. "With you… with my family… now with even the whole world. I have to fix this."

Chuck did a noticeable double take at the huge grin that was spreading across her face. "You're going to have to explain to me exactly what part of that struck you as funny," he said. "Have you been listening to me?"

Sarah started laughing. "You," she said. "You're funny. Yes, I've been listening. I'll not deny that you have serious problems. We're going to have to deal with them. But let's not worry about the problems you don't really have."

"Okay," Chuck said. "I'll bite. What problems don't I really have?"

"Well me for starters," Sarah said still laughing. "Unless you think of having a soul mate who thinks you're too fucking perfect for your own good and who honestly worships you as a problem. Am I overdoing it? Tough."

"I'm trying to be serious," Chuck complained.

"I know," Sarah said. "You're blaming yourself for what happened between me and Carmichael. But that is not your fault. It's not even his. It's mine. I can prove that to you if you'll honestly listen to me. You're a logical guy. This argument should appeal to you."

Chuck didn't respond. He just nodded.

"I messed up," Sarah said. "I'm embarrassed about it. Look. This is not an excuse. But you need to understand where I'm coming from. In my world the first thing that any man looks at when he first meets me is my chest. Admit it, that's the first thing you looked at that day in the Buy More."

Chuck's face turned immediately red. "Okay," he said. "That's probably true."

Sarah laughed at the flush on his face. "You don't have to be embarrassed," she said. "It just proves that you're a normal man. Trust me, sweetie. I've spent countless hours in training cultivating that look, making sure that's the first place a man looks. As an agent, I've been trained in a lot of skills. I can shoot, speak a lot of languages, throw a knife, and I'm a world class expert in hand to hand combat and tactics. I don't think it's at all arrogant to say that I'm a bad ass. But the very real truth is that my tits are my most potent weapon. Men simply have no defense against it. I can get most any man to do most any thing… all the while him thinking it was his idea… all for simply smiling at him, giving him a glimpse at some cleavage, and allowing him to think that he might get a better look someday. And the best part is that I hardly ever had to pay off. Come on, Chuck, you've see that before."

"Maybe," Chuck said cautiously. "What's your point?"

"I've been taught," Sarah said. "That sex is the main thing I possess that men are after. It's what Carmichael wanted. Surely you get that, right? You sure get jealous enough whenever any man looks at me twice."

"Okay," Chuck said. "I do get jealous. You're right about that. I know what they're all thinking."

"Thank you," Sarah said. "That is my point exactly. They are picturing me naked. The idea that getting me in bed is what they're after has been reinforced by every single man I've ever had any social contact with. Their first and last thought is how to get in my pants."

Sarah paused for a moment. "Let's go back a couple years or so," she said. "Agent Walker was living the life of a hardcore spy. Which means it wasn't a real life. All she lived for was the thrill of the next mission. Sex was at best a feel good temporary release of tension but mostly an offensive weapon. Relationships were flings. Love was for suckers. Every man she ever met was trying to get her on her back. We'd agree on that, right?"

Chuck nodded… cautiously.

That got Sarah grinning again. "Thank you," she said. "Because the story is about to take a big turn to the good. One day on a mission she met this guy. He was unlike anybody she'd ever known. I mean, he was totally not her type. Come on, the guy was a nerd, shy, bashful, had low self esteem. He was the type of guy that, if she noticed him at all, she would chew up and spit out like a sunflower seed. But this guy was different. She was forced to honestly spend some time with him. It opened her eyes. He was exactly the opposite of her. She feared emotions. He wore his on his sleeve. And at first she honestly snickered a little behind his back. This assignment was a piece of cake. She was going to devour him like a hungry wolf would a stray lamb. But something she couldn't explain stopped her. Quickly enough all that changed. He turned her world upside down. It confused her… scared her even."

Sarah paused to playfully punch him in the arm. "If he realized it or not," she continued. "He had plenty of opportunities for the conquest that any other man would have long ago gone for. Soon enough she was even secretly hoping he would. She started giving him hints that he could get very lucky pretty much anytime he wanted. She wore low cut outfits around him. She found excuses to bend over so that he would have a good look down her shirt. And she saw him looking. She knew that she could probably seduce him. But she waited for him to make the first move like she knew he would. But he never did. It turned out that the nerd didn't want that. He wanted more than sex, even when he knew that he probably wasn't ever going to get it. He treated her with respect, became the best friend she had never known was possible, and even made her part of his family. He was the one person in the whole world who could always make her laugh no matter how down she was. He actually loved her… for her, not working an angle to get the conquest. It was intoxicating. She started looking for excuses to spend more and more time with him. Almost immediately she found herself head over heels for this amazing guy. But she was messed up. He deserved more than her. She didn't handle it very well. That's understatement. She was a total bitch, constantly pushed him away. She even blamed him for making her fall in love with him."

Sarah silenced Chuck's objection with a finger to his lips. "Let me finish," she said. "I know that I haven't told you anything yet that you don't already know. This is hard for me. But it's important."

She waited for his nod. "So even after we finally got together, I was feeling mighty guilty," she continued. "Even today he probably thinks he knows how fucked up I am, but the sad truth is that he really doesn't. Not really. I was so fucked up that I could never hope to explain it to him. I couldn't even tell him how I felt. I was getting ten times more out of our relationship than he was. I knew that. He was perfect, too good to be true. He would spend his entire days thinking of things to make me feel like a princess. And in bed… oh my God. He didn't use me for his own satisfaction like all those other men. He made love with me. He actually made my satisfaction a priority even over his own. It was… well, I don't have the words. I never imagined I could go where he was night after glorious night rather effortlessly taking me. I became like all those silly dreamers I had always made fun of. I was a different person when I was with him. It was like he had some sort of magic spell over me. Every single day I became more and more addicted. When he was holding my hand I was even starting to like myself. And that was something I had given up on. I don't think you really get how powerful that is."

Sarah reached up and gave him a quick kiss. "But I was inadequate as a normal wife. I knew that. I was kinda scared that I ultimately wouldn't be enough for him and he'd move on," she finally continued. "Scared isn't even the right word. Panic is closer. I wasn't giving this amazing man up without a fight. So I wanted to make sure that he knew how much I honestly adored him. I still had one very powerful weapon left. Since wild sex is what all men want from me, I figured he did too. He was just too afraid to ask. I came up with a plan. I would offer to become his sexual plaything, allow him to show me off to everyone, smile and do all those wild things that all the other men like Bryce were always asking for. That would show him how much I loved him. So I pressed him. I hounded him. I basically demanded that he let me prove that I would do anything… anything he wanted. And when he finally broke down and asked for a wild fantasy, I was actually excited… a little surprised maybe at first, but excited. It didn't occur to me that he was messed up until later that night. I was on cloud nine. I was finally going to get to prove to him how far I would go to make him happy. And I would have gladly done what he asked. Part of the deal I made with him is that I would make myself get into it for him. I practiced with Carina. I forced myself to put my jealousy aside. I encouraged him to fuck another woman. And then I walked onto The Enforcer that night completely having talked myself into putting on a wild show with that other woman for his amusement. But I didn't get the chance. He was already gone. We didn't know where to begin to look for him. My worst fear came true. I had lost him. My life was over."

Sarah could feel her lip quivering. So she paused for a long moment to gather her composure. "But then this nerd went and did the unthinkable." she finally said. "He proved to the whole world that he adored me every bit as much as I did him. He came back. It was the very last thing he should have done. Even after they messed up his memories this hardcore Fulcrum Agent was still willing to die just to tell me that he loved me. Wow."

Sarah had to pause again to try and blink the tears from her eyes. She failed miserably. "It made me realize how stupid I was being," she finally continued with tears now streaming down her face. "He clearly didn't come back for wild sex. He had turned that down."

Chuck grabbed her and held her as she sobbed for a while.

"The truth is I wasn't helping him," Sarah was finally able to continue. "In fact it was the opposite. I was confusing him, making him feel that our normal sex life wasn't good enough for me. That was the last thing I wanted. We were both already getting everything we needed."

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you this," Chuck said, perhaps not in anger, but with a definite edge in his voice. "I'm done hearing you say that you're inadequate. You're amazing. I'm not afraid to ask you for things. I know that you would do almost anything I asked. But the last thing, Sarah, the very last thing I would ever want is to treat you as an object."

"Chuck," Sarah said, her voice strained. "Please don't be angry with me. I can't take that right now. Yes, I messed up. But I'm trying my best. I did it out of love."

"I'm not angry," Chuck said. "It's not that at all. I'll admit I'm a little frustrated. I don't know how to tell you this and get you to believe it. I worship you. I put you on a pedestal. The idea of you making a sacrifice and demeaning yourself for my amusement horrifies me. It's the very last thing I would ever do."

Sarah pulled out of his embrace to look at him. "I get it," she said. "I'm ashamed that it took so long. The truth is that you're different from those other men… in a purely wonderful way. You are never going to be comfortable asking me for kinky sex fantasies. I get it. That's fine. I'll stop suggesting it. As long as we agree that I honestly love you more than I will ever be able to effectively express to you. I seriously don't think that you completely get that. So anything you ever, ever, ever want from me… even kinky sex fantasies including Bryce, Alex, inanimate objects, Shetland Ponies, some combination, or anything else when it really comes down to it… I'd consider it a privilege to make it happen for you. I want your promise that you'll never be afraid to ask me… for anything."

That actually got a bit of a smile. "Agreed," Chuck said. "I'm not an uptight prude. I have a normal amount of imagination. I'll admit that I enjoy the fact that you're the most beautiful woman in the world. I even understand that sometimes we can maybe get a little wild and just have fun with sex. But I would never, not ever, suggest anything unless I was sure that you genuinely wanted it. Besides, I thought that Shetland Ponies were off the table."

Chuck always knew exactly what to say to get her laughing. "Please don't ask for anything involving Shetland Ponies," she said. "That would be gross. I'm not even sure what you would do with one. And I'm not going to spend any time finding out. But be clear. I understand what you're saying. I appreciate it. But understand what I'm saying. There is absolutely nothing off the table. If you want it, then almost by definition, I want it."

"That's not good enough," Chuck said.

"I know," Sarah said. "It may not sound like it. But sweetie, I get what you're saying. I promise that if you ask for something I don't genuinely want, I'll say so. I don't ever see me genuinely wanting to share you with another woman. But I also don't want you to hesitate asking for something because you're afraid of how I'll react. I promise the same thing. If the answer is no, that's fine. We trust each other to have that discussion without any fear, right?"

"Of course," Chuck said.

"Good," Sarah said. "So to get that ball rolling, I'd like to ask you for something. I know that you hang back and let me set the pace in our sex life. I'm fine with that. But it would really be exciting for me if sometimes you would take charge. The ravage thing didn't really work out. But I hope you know what I mean."

That got Chuck grinning. "I think so," he said. "You're talking about what happened on the plane with Laura."

"It was incredible," Sarah said. "And it really wasn't all that far out there. If something like that could ever happen again, I'd be totally on board. It doesn't have to even be with anyone else. Look, sweetie, I'll keep looking for a better way to say this. But for now all I can do is tell you that I love you with every fiber of my being… and that I always, always, always will."

"I love you just as much," Chuck said. "Will you please stop trying so hard? For the record, what I want… is you. And I'm not trying to say that our sex life isn't important to me… it is. But it's not the only thing we have going. Sarah, it's not even the main thing. I love every second of our life together. Why can't I make you understand that?"

"I do now," Sarah said. "Don't get me wrong. This is nothing against you. You've always been so great at telling me. I've always known it in my brain. But last night you made me FEEL it. And you made me feel it in a way that trumps any stupid insecurity. Even as fucked up as I am, it's impossible to deny. I promise that I'll never question it again. So in a very real way, these past two weeks have been a good thing. They taught me something very important, something that I'll remember for the rest of my life. I'll have to send Jenifer Bowles a thank you card."

"Thank you," Chuck sighed. "All I've ever wanted is for you to be happy."

"I am happy," Sarah said. "I'm incredibly happy. So maybe you can scratch me off your list of problems?"

"Okay," Chuck sighed. "Thank you. But what about the rest of the family?"

That got Sarah giggling. "We do have a potential problem with Alex," she said. "As it turns out, she feels cheated that we never consummated our agreement. She is a… well she thinks that 'slut' maybe is a bit harsh, but you get my meaning, right? She saw the pictures that Carlos took. She really likes them… actually a bit too much. She'd like you to take some of… um… her and me in some interesting positions. She was being quite descriptive. Honestly I was starting to blush."

Chuck took full measure of her giggling. "Okay," he said. "To be honest, those pictures were a big hit with the Fulcrum folks too. What are we going to do with her?"

Sarah continued her giggling. "I'll bet," she said playfully. "Well, I suppose we could… um… bite the bullet and give her what she wants and consummate it. That might resolve things." His look got Sarah laughing even harder. "I'm teasing you," she quickly said. "I think we both agree that's not going to happen. Don't worry about Alex. It's maybe true that Morgan and Alex are going to have something of a stormy romance. They may not make it. But that's for them to work out. Maybe it's time I had a gentle chat with her about how possessive I can be without her trying to seduce me. Well, gentle at first anyway. After all the mixed messages we've been sending, I probably owe her that."

"What about Casey?" Chuck sighed. "Both with Laura and Alex. Have I fucked up our relationship?"

"I don't think that Casey knows anything about us and Alex," Sarah said, still giggling. "For one thing, we really haven't done anything yet. And even he would have to admit, he's not going to be nominated for Dad of the Year any time soon. I think that he's probably forfeited any right to be involved in Alex's sex life. And if half the vivid stories she is telling me are close to being true, that's probably a very good thing. Sure, he's protective of her. He's not too wild about her being with Morgan. They both have the mentality of an alley cat. But Casey understands that she's a grown woman. And as far as what happened with Laura? We do have something of a problem… just not the one you fear. She wants a rematch… with Casey as the judge this time. At first I thought she was kidding. But she says that justice demands it. And while I was forced to agree in principle, what happens when I inevitably win? I'm pretty sure that I don't want to win that particular prize."

"Very funny," Chuck said. "I'm trying to be a little serious here."

"I know," Sarah said. "It's cute. But here is what I'm trying to tell you. Nobody is upset with you, not even a little bit. We're all far, far too relieved that you're back with us and basically okay to be mad at anything that Agent Carmichael did. Please let that go."

Chuck found that he had little choice but to finally smile. "Laura's not really kidding, is she?" he asked.

"She's not kidding at all," Sarah said as she started giggling again. "Look, you know that I would never do anything that you're not completely on board with. But I don't think Laura's thought this through. I'm pretty sure that I could quickly get Casey so embarrassed that he'd be begging me to stop taking off clothes. That might be a little fun."

That got Chuck softly laughing. "You know how much I enjoy embarrassing Casey," he said. "Consider the rematch approved."

"Thank you," Sarah said. "Laura needs to learn the lesson I just learned… be careful what you wish for. And let's face some facts. There are simply some circumstances that as a community we are going to have to live with. There has been a fair amount of discussion about it since you've been gone. Agent Carmichael didn't cause this… he just made everyone realize and openly face it. Our new life style is going to mean an adjustment. Things like the contest with Laura are going to happen. With so many ex spies and their particular lack of normal sexual morals in the same place, there is bound to be some messing around. Especially given the next to zero clothes being worn, the free flow of alcohol, and the wild cards that Morgan and Alex represent. Not to mention Carina constantly stirring the pot. I'm not suggesting there is going to be a nightly orgy or anything. But it is going to be different. You and I can stay locked in our room every night. Or we can find a way to have fun with our circumstance in a way that is consistent with being married."

"I never want to cheat on you," Chuck said quickly.

"That's good," Sarah said as another giggling spell hit. "I'm certainly not suggesting that. Because that is a very real problem you absolutely do have. I would fucking kill you. I would never cheat on you either. We'll need to talk about what happened with Carina later. But I do think we need to specifically define what we're calling 'cheating' so that we both know where the line is. Unless we stay in our room every night you're going to be seeing a lot of skin from beautiful woman who are drunk, don't understand concepts like monogamy, and who see getting you to bed them as a challenge… something akin to climbing Mount Everest. You've become sort of the symbol to them. The unattainable thing they are all now obsessed with. My constantly being possessive and acting uptight about that would quickly make us both pretty miserable. If that is going to be the case, maybe we should think about moving."

"But we love it here," Chuck protested. "Can we make it work? Where is the line?"

"That's for us to decide," Sarah said. "In both cases. For me, the line is pretty black and white. I've learned that there is a clear difference between sex and making love. You're the only person I'm ever going to make love with… for the rest of my life. Period. No possible room for any exception. As your wife, I demand that same commitment from you. But I've also learned that sex is a broad topic, it can sometimes be recreational, and that is a little grayer. For purposes of this discussion I'm defining sex as anything involving an orgasm. I'm not saying it's ever going to happen. I doubt that it is. I'm fine with that. You are all I'll ever need. I know I'm all you ever need. But I could also see the possible room for an exception. Here is my line. Either of us having sex with anyone without the other's honest expressed prior consent and eager participation would be cheating."

"I don't want to have sex with anybody," Chuck said.

"That's good," Sarah said. "Because I really don't see it ever going that far. You're not going to ask. And even if you did, you're probably going to struggle getting that expressed prior consent from me. I'm still reserving my wifely right to be insanely possessive. I totally get the hypocrisy here. I make no apology. But one thing that Carina did accomplish. I now am willing to lighten up a little, flow with circumstances, not worry so much and have fun… as long as you're holding my hand and we never, ever do anything to hurt each other. I enjoyed my contest with Laura on the plane. It was hot. I could see things like that happening. And let's face it. Joey or Laura or both is going to get drunk at some point and try and seduce one or both of us. Alex… well she is always going to be on the prowl. Carina already thinks we owe her something. I'm not saying this is ever going to happen, but I could see a circumstance where we decide together it would be fun to push back a little. I could even see us mutually deciding to have a preplanned wild night every once in a while. All I'm saying is that we don't have to dance around having that discussion. I'll live with whatever we decide together. Even Ellie was saying that as a group we might have to redefine a little what we mean by monogamy. I suspect that your line might be different. And I'm also fine with living within where ever you would draw it."

"What about you and Carina?" Chuck asked softly. "Was that across your line?"

"Maybe," Sarah admitted. "We've been putting that discussion off. So let's talk about that. The real question is was it over your line? I hope not. It's true. I had a session that would meet my definition of sex with Carina with you not holding my hand. I owe you full disclosure. She was going to let me off the hook. I insisted on going through with it. And I could tell you it was because you wanted me to do it. And that's most of it. I made a promise to you that I would make myself get into it. So I did that. But that promise is not the whole picture. I did it partly… Chuck maybe even more than partly because she wanted it so badly. So if you think I cheated or did something bad to you with Carina, I'm so, so sorry."

Chuck pulled her close again. "You didn't do anything wrong," he said. "How could anybody possibly think that? You were there specifically because I manipulated you into it. You're never to feel guilty about that again. You can consider that an order."

"Yes, sir," an obviously relieved Sarah sighed as she melted into him. "Thank you. The truth is that I surprised myself. I told you that I'd try. The fact is that I really got into it with her, more than I imagined possible. Her gloating about that is now a lifetime burden we'll have to live with. So I'm sorry if you think of that as across your line. But I learned something about myself… something that I think translates to us. Carina was great about it. She was even right about some things. We both owe her a huge debt. Trust me, Chuck. She isn't going to be shy about requesting payment."

"I know," Chuck sighed.

"What about you?" Sarah asked. "What have you learned? I know that Jenifer Bowles offered Agent Carmichael sex as a reward. There may be others."

"Jenifer Bowles stiffed me," Chuck said. "Fulcrum had me too busy launching missiles to think much about sex. Thank goodness." He paused for a moment before grinning. "Tell me more about your experience with Carina," he said.

Sarah was openly relieved that he was letting her off the hook. "We'll watch the tape," she said, now openly snickering. "It was definitely a new experience for me. I learned a lot about myself that night. To say that I enjoyed all of it wouldn't really be accurate. But I was able to get into it more than I anticipated. In fact I think she is probably going to approach you about a repeat someday soon… with you participating. Watch the tape and you'll see why."

"Wow," Chuck said. "I... um… I don't see that happening."

That got Sarah laughing even harder. "I know," she said. "You may not agree, but Carina's heart is in the right place. I'm warning you. She can be very persuasive. That will be completely your call. But if she can talk you into it, Carina has probably already planned out how it will go. She's going to pitch it to you as an educational opportunity. She has no interest in getting in the way of our marriage… quite the opposite. She thinks she can help us… you more than me. And maybe she can. She just doesn't look at sex the same way you do. I want to be careful how I say this, but with the right boundaries defined, that is something that I might even consider letting you convince me into supporting. The good news is that now I have a new perspective, and a whole new level of appreciation for what you constantly do for me. In fact I wouldn't mind horribly much you taking some personal initiative and making me appreciate it right about now."

Chuck took full note of her openly teasing him. "Wow," he said. "You're really in a good mood."

Sarah looked at him skeptically. "Have you been listening to me?" she asked in faux disgust. "Have you heard a fucking word I've said? I've never felt this good in my life. You took a thousand pounds off of my back last night. Carina made me leave the room because she said that my gloating was getting annoying. She is most definitely a hypocrite."

"I still have a problem that you haven't talked me out of," Chuck said. "I have to deal with them. They tried to take us away from each other. They're not getting away with that."

"Agreed," Sarah quickly said. "Except you have to stop saying 'I' like that. It's not you, it's us. Yes, we do still have that problem. They're not getting away with it. We're going to deal with them. And killing them would be doing them a favor. They tried to take you away from me. That's unforgivable. And it turns out that I have a fairly famous skill that they are going to become very, well appreciative isn't really the right word, but you get what I'm trying to say, right?"

In spite of the tension, that got a smile. "Yes," Sarah," Chuck said. "I have to say, I'm looking forward to finally getting to see this skill in action. And don't even try to keep me away from it. If it's our problem… if we're going to approach this as a team… I get to watch the sausage being made once. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Sarah said as she started to unbutton his shirt. "We have a deal. I know that we have some work to do. But I would like just one more hour to be Sarah Bartowski before we have to get into mission mode. And as long as we're now open about asking each other for sex type things… um…"

"I've really wasn't kidding about wanting to be appreciative."

x-x-x-x-x


	10. Spy vs Spouse

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

_About last chapter. I get that some of you have this thing about Sarah. It's not really protectiveness. It's almost an obsessive thing. I've dealt with it ever sense I started trying to write stories that depict Chuck and Sarah as legitimate adults._

_But I'm truly disheartened that so many would misunderstand her so completely and then judge her so harshly. She wasn't being a hypocrite. She wasn't pushing Chuck to do wild things. In fact she recognized that was because of her hang ups and she promised to stop. She told Chuck in no uncertain terms that he was all she'd ever need. But she is also never going to be June Cleaver (if you're under 50, Google her). That's what some of you seem to want. I have no interest in writing her that way. Not only is it boring, I think it would be a disservice to the character._

_My Sarah understands that she fiercely loves Chuck… almost obsessively. She feels inadequate in expressing that to him. So she told him that she would do anything it took to make him happy. Is that wrong somehow? If he truly needed to see her with the Shetland Pony, she'd do it. Of course that's hyperbole. But in the next breath she promised to let him know if he ever asked for anything again that gave her pause. Sharing him with another woman is one of those things. And she knows Chuck well enough to know that is now off forever the table._

_She did express that she enjoyed the scene in the plane with Laura. It's probably something that most married couples would never do. Yes, there was sex. Yes, there was a third person involved. Yes, that third person was naked and added to the erotic atmosphere. But neither Chuck nor Sarah actually ever touched her. Was it so wrong for Sarah to remember that as a good, sexy time with her husband and hold out the possibility of something like it happening again? I sure don't think so._

_Having said all that, Sarah faced the reality of their new lifestyle. And she could do some things. She could demand that they move. She could get all possessive every time Chuck saw a bare breast and make them constantly tense and miserable. She could insist that they stay locked up in their room every night. Or she could lighten up a little, go with the flow, set reasonable boundaries, and enjoy the ride. Before Chuck came back, she would have probably eventually made one of those other choices. Now, she chose the latter. Devon, Ellie, Steven, Joan, Morgan, Alex, and to a lesser extent, Joey and Josh are going to have a similar decision to make._

_I like the Sarah of this story. I feel for her. I certainly don't judge or dislike her._

_Content warning: If you've read this arc, you know that spies using sex is a pretty big theme. If that bothers you, you probably should have stopped reading about 50 chapters ago. But that is going to happen here. It won't be Sarah (learned my lesson on that one). It won't even technically be a spy. _

_I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

**Spy vs Spouse**

x-x-x-x-x

It was the shortest hour of Sarah's life. Since it was likely to be her last chance for a while, she spent most of it simply snuggled into him, making sure she remembered how good he felt. But soon enough the hour was over. "Last night you said that you were sent to capture me," she finally said. "What did you mean?"

Chuck just looked at her for a long time. "They said I was heartbroken," he finally said sadly. "It was affecting my work. So if I brought you back, they would make sure Agent Walker was motivated to keep me happy."

That got Sarah laughing again. "Wow," she said. "I really like the sound of that. Talk about a dream job. Why didn't I defect to Fulcrum a long time ago? So, Agent Carmichael… um, Daddy, how do you like it?"

"Very funny," Chuck said. "They aren't kidding."

"Neither am I," Sarah insisted. "That's what we should do. I told Carmichael last night that he wouldn't have to capture me. I meant it. We'll go and I'll convince them that I'm willing to keep my mouth shut and be your obedient sex toy, keeping a perpetual smile on your face for them, as long as I can be guarantied to be with you. They will buy that. Once Agent Carmichael and Agent Walker are inside, we'll figure out a way to take them down."

Chuck shook his head firmly. "That would probably work," he said. "Except for one thing. They would be skeptical. Agent Walker would be required to be obedient to more than Carmichael. Quinn especially wants a shot at you. He calls you the reward for being an Intersect. He would make it a point to force you to prove your commitment. You're sort of an obsession with him. I've already heard all the graphic locker room bravado about the various positions he would love to put you in."

The smile never left Sarah's face. "Maybe," she said. "I'm counting on it. It's my most effective weapon, remember? But we do have one major thing going for us. They have to be a little careful. The whole reason they're doing this is because they know that Agent Carmichael is in love with Agent Walker. They know that you're going to be a little protective of me. So if anything like that does happen, they are going to hide it from you, do most of it behind your back. I'll be able to use that."

"It's not just you," Chuck sighed. "Roark wants me to see if I could bring back Ellie. He's positively obsessed with her… actually more than Quinn with you. I just warned dad about it. We're going to have to be extra careful to protect her. I heard all about it in sickening detail. Roark wants to break her. Then after she's broken, he wants to send Orion the pictures of his daughter's graphic degradation performing various sex acts. It's sick."

"It's how these guys think," Sarah said. "Chuck, sweetie, yeah I know how you feel about Ellie. Me too. We'll do everything we possibly can to protect her. But it's their predictable weakness… one we simply have to exploit. Maybe it's how I could get close enough to Roark to kill him when the time comes."

"Will you be serious?" Chuck asked in exasperation. "I'm not putting you in that position. They all want a shot at you too. It would be Quinn, then Roark, then Bowles, then who knows? Besides, you're retired."

"You forgot Carmichael," Sarah said still smiling. "He's an Intersect, you know. That makes him really valuable to them. They aren't going to do anything to upset him. I'm not completely sure, but I think watching his wife being passed around to a rotation of people to fuck might just do that. You're wrong about me being retired. I'm only retired as a CIA Agent. I'm not doing this for the CIA. In fact, that group of retards can collectively go straight to hell. I'm doing this for my husband who has become my very life, for my new family, for the future one we're going to create together someday. I'll never be retired from that job."

Sarah paused for a long moment. "Okay, let's talk about the sex," she said. "It's possible… for both of us. I know that's bothering you. You wouldn't be my Chuck if it didn't bother you. We need to get it on the table. Mission sex isn't really sex. It is something else. It certainly doesn't count as cheating. We've pretty much come full circle on this. Remember in Vegas, the huge fight we had? Me arguing that I should go to Peter West's hotel room and fuck him into submission to gain their trust?"

"Of course," Chuck said. "I agree it's not cheating. But it's still uncomfortable. We decided against it then. What's changed?"

"Tons of things have changed," Sarah said. "If you remember Laura took my place. So we still gained their trust. I'm afraid that's not an option this time. But, sweetie, something a lot bigger has changed… us. You and I, we've grown so much closer together since then. We're now so strong that nothing as ultimately meaningless as some lurid sex acts on a mission could possibly hurt us. You know that. You feel it as much as I do. We made the right decision last time. But this is the right decision this time. And it's true that I'd need to know for sure that you are on board to pull it off. But the honest truth is, it wouldn't even bother me now. I'd always be thinking of how I was going to make them suffer before I killed them."

Sarah paused to gauge his reaction. "But there is an even bigger reason," she continued. "With Peter West, we had a choice. Here we really don't. You just said that I'm an obsession with them. So ask yourself, sweetie. What is Jenifer Bowles going to do when she is co-emperor of the entire world and you being an Intersect is far less important to her? How long will it take before she decides that having me delivered to her and making me submit to her a few hundred times in the most humiliating way possible would be a little fun? The same with Roark and Ellie. Talk about predictable. We'd be defenseless. At least this way we're doing it for a good reason and controlling the agenda. And yes, they might eventually make me fuck someone who is not you. It's even more likely that to sell this you will have to fuck someone who is not me. I think we both get that it is a definite possibility. We need to accept it as a given. But they can never make us make love with anybody. They can never take away anything that we've given to each other. They can never make me stop loving you with all of my heart."

Chuck sat in thought for a long moment. "Okay," he finally sighed. "I can probably get possessive and keep them away from you for a while, at least until they make me go on a mission. That's probably when they would move on you. They promised me a long break, so we can buy a few weeks. If our time runs out, we'll think of something else."

Chuck stoked his chin in thought. "There's only one way this works," he finally said. "We're going to have to figure out a way to get me into their command center where Roark is. That's where they are controlling the nukes. I have no idea where that is exactly or how to shut it down. We'd have to find the other one and shut it down at pretty much the same time. We'd also have to coordinate an outside attack somehow to keep it shut down. The Intersect is going to have to do some quick learning. But I guess it's our best shot. We really don't have time to talk about it. If we're going to do this, they are expecting me back right about now. We have to get moving."

"I need to hear you say it," Sarah said. "We hope not, we're going to try hard to avoid it, but it's worst case that you're going to be watching me screw other people, maybe even literally right in front of you. You might even have to be the one who gives me the order. I might be watching you fuck other people in front of me. I can separate mission stuff from our marriage. So I'm on board with that. I need you to tell me that you can separate it, that you're also totally on board. That's the only way I can do this. You're going to have to sell to them that you're still Agent Carmichael. Any of nice guy, Chuck Bartowski leaking out isn't going to fool them. You're going to have to make a big macho show of flaunting your power off a little and proving you can demand things from me in front of them. Now that I think about it, that actually might be a little fun. I can make it a game as long as I know that you're on board."

"I'm on board," Chuck said. "I have to tell you, I've played better games. I don't have to like it, do I?"

Sarah pressed her lips to his. "No, sweetie," she said. "Of course not."

"But I'll bet I can make you like some of it… a little anyway."

x-x-x-x-x

The rest of the family was gathered in the common room waiting for Chuck and Sarah. So it was fairly obvious that they would be all over them as soon as they appeared. Joey stepped up to Chuck, threw her arms around his neck, and clung to him emotionally.

"We can't stay long," Chuck said as he rubbed Joey's back affectionately. "We're going back. Agent Carmichael has captured Agent Walker. We're going to get inside and take them down."

The room erupted in raucous protest. "The hell you are," Casey said. "We figured you two pinheads would think of something like that. It's not the kind of thing that I can live with."

"We have a plan," Sarah insisted. "Look guys, our minds are made up. We have to end them. It's the only way."

Joey released her hold on Chuck and took a step back. Then she un-expectantly launched a kick directly into his shin. Intersect or no, it hurt like hell. Suddenly all thoughts of any plan were momentarily forgotten as he started jumping on his one good leg trying to rub the injury. "Why would you do that to me?" he cried. He turned to Sarah. "I thought that you said nobody was mad at me."

In spite of the tense situation, that got a smile. "I forgot about Joey," Sarah said. "She's mad that you wanted a threesome and didn't pick her."

Joey's nostrils were still flared in anger. "That discussion is most definitely not over," she growled. "What's wrong with me anyway? You know that I have self esteem issues. But that's for another time." She paused for a moment to gather herself. "You don't have a plan," she finally snorted. "You have an idea… a concept maybe. At best you can cause them some damage… and never come back. Do you have a clue in that pea brain what we've gone through for the past two weeks? What has happened to the brilliant Chuck Bartowski and his badass wife, the best field agent who ever lived, that has your heads so far up your respective ass? You retire for a couple of months and suddenly you start thinking like civilians? Having Sarah go and fuck Fulcrum leadership into submission while you maybe come up with a plan… that's not a plan."

Chuck was finally able to rub enough blood into his shin to stand on his hurt leg. "What would you suggest?" he asked hotly as he continued to rub where Joey had kicked him. "We're not crazy about this either. But the clock is ticking. And they no longer call themselves Fulcrum. It's The Ring."

"I hate to break this to you, Mr. Almost-God-Intersect," Laura said sarcastically. "But you're not the only smart person here. Maybe you're not even the smartest. We know about The Ring. Joan has an actual plan to get the Intersect inside both of their command centers with enough time to figure out how to shut it down. We've been talking about it while you two were… well it disgusts me to say it out loud. The whole family is on board. Maybe just before running off and committing suicide you two could spare her ten minutes and have her tell you about it."

"It actually has a chance."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck sat silently listening to the details of the plan. "No way," he finally said flatly. "Come on, Joan. That's crazy. Ellie's not a spy. She's not trained for any of this. I can maybe protect Sarah. I won't be able to protect Ellie. She will be totally defenseless. You can't use her like that. Can't it be someone else?"

"You really haven't listened to a single word Joan has said, have you?" Laura asked sadly. "For one thing, Joan is not 'using' anyone. Ellie went to Joan and suggested it. You know damn well it has to be her. She is Orion's daughter. She is the one who Roark wants to break. She's the only one who has a real chance to get close enough to him for this to work."

"But," Chuck protested. "Getting close to him means…"

"Fucking him?" Laura finished his statement. "Of course it does. Bowles too. She's going to have to convince them that she's broken… that she's willing to do whatever they ask to save herself. If my guess is right, she'd have to get real close, within about three inches or so. Those world domination guys always have tiny dicks. It's predictable… an overcompensation thing."

That got Ellie grinning. "What's the matter, little brother?" she asked. "You don't think I'm up for this? I may not be Sarah… but who is? You don't think I can be sexy? Maybe this isn't the perfect time for this discussion. I hate to have to tell you this here like this. But I'm… well… Chuck, I'm not a virgin."

That got most of the room laughing. "Very funny," Chuck replied. "You're also not a spy."

Ellie's grin didn't fade. "Neither are you," she said. "I'm just a Bartowski just like you. Circumstances beyond our control forced you to quickly become a spy. Well, it's the same with me. You think you're the only one with responsibilities here? They are threatening my family the same as they are yours. Unless we stop them, it's my fiancé, my brother, my family… my future in their crosshairs. And this will work. Even you'd have to admit that Joan's plan makes more sense than most of the wild reckless things you come up with. It will hit then where they least expect it and end them once and for all. I'm not doing anything here that most of the ladies in this room haven't done many times. Surely you know me well enough to know that you're wasting your breath trying to talk me out of this."

Chuck had to admit that was a good point. So he changed tactics. He turned to Devon specifically, but he was clearly addressing the room. "And you're okay with this?" he asked sarcastically. "Your fiancé is going to be fucking… well who knows how many? All of you are okay with this?"

Devon was the one to respond. "It's not my first choice," he said. "I'm pretty sure that this is no one's first choice. Not really because of the sex. Ultimately that's meaningless. I'm actually very worried. But my concern is far more because it's dangerous. These are ruthless people we're talking about. The thing is I'm convinced that doing nothing and allowing them to rule the world is even more dangerous. This is our best shot. So yes, Chuck. Ellie knows that I'm 100% on board. In fact, I'm very proud of her."

"Ellie won't be alone," Joey said. "Laura, Carina, and I will be there. We'll protect her as much as we possibly can. And the guys will have their own dangerous assignments while we're gone."

Finding himself quickly out of arguments, Chuck turned to Sarah expectantly. She didn't answer his unasked question. Instead she turned to Ellie. "Are you sure about this?" she asked. "There is only one way to do this. Listening to Laura brag about her lurid sex filled missions is not the same being on one. And maybe Laura hasn't ever told you the different between a light bulb and a spy… you can unscrew a light bulb. Once you do this, it can't ever be undone. Ellie, these are not reasonable people. Once this starts, you're committed. And this isn't simply sleeping with someone. They get off on control. They are going to search for your limit and then are going to push you hard over it. Fuck toys don't get to choose what they want to do next. They don't get to say 'That's disgusting. I'd rather not do that.' In fact saying something like that would guarantee it happening all the more."

Ellie's grin wasn't toothy. But it was determined. As was her answer. "We're wasting time."

Sarah turned to Joan. "This all depends on you being right about the Intersect," she said. "Are you positive?"

"Absolutely," Joan replied. "The current Intersect was designed around the Bartowski brain using Steven as the model. It might work in other people but not nearly as well."

"I'm not sure about that," Chuck protested. "I've seen him in action. Quinn is a lot bigger than I am. He was a trained agent before the Intersect. He has a big advantage."

"If you faced him it wouldn't be close," Joan insisted. "Trust me."

"I trust you," Sarah said. "But maybe we should test that."

"We really don't have time," Joan protested. "I'm right about this."

"Okay," Sarah said. "Sweetie, I'm not doubting you. But we can test this quickly. That wouldn't hurt, right? And I have an idea that actually appeals to me. Two birds, one stone. I love the idea of that efficiency."

"Leave this to me."

x-x-x-x-x

Bryce came storming into the gym where Chuck and Sarah were standing. "You wanted to see me?" he asked. "Why? Your husband is back."

"We have to get Chuck ready to face Quinn," Sarah said. "I want you to fight him to be able to evaluate where he's at."

Bryce's smirk was plain. "Do you think you have a chance?" he asked.

Chuck just shrugged.

"We're not sure," Sarah said. "That's what we need to find out. We need your full effort. That's why I came up with a way to make sure we get a valid test. The winner gets a prize."

"Okay," Bryce said. "I'll bite. What is the prize?"

"Me," Sarah said. "If you win, you get me for a week. I'll obey any command you give me… nothing off the table. All those kinky things you've always wanted from me? Those things you say that I owe you? Win and all of that plus any other sick thing you can think of is yours. If you lose, I owe you nothing and you never mention anything involving us… ever again."

Chuck registered a wordless protest.

Bryce took full measure of Chuck's demeanor. "I don't believe you," he laughed. "You're just messing with me."

Sarah turned to Chuck. "Sorry, sweetie," she said. "This is the only way we can be sure that you're both trying your very hardest." She turned to Bryce. "The second you get his submission, I'm your toy for the next week. Whatever water has passed under the bridge between us, you know that I would never go back on something like that." She pulled her shirt over her head. She slid her pants down and stepped out of them leaving her wearing only a pair of mostly invisible bikini briefs. "Do you believe me now?" she asked. "Winner gets my panties as a souvenir and my undivided attention for a week."

Bryce grinned as he checked out her virtually naked form for a long moment. He squared off on Chuck. "Sorry, buddy," he said. "I really don't want to hurt you. But your girl clearly wants you to lose."

Sarah's grin as she enjoyed her position of not so innocent bystander was genuine. She watched as Chuck reluctantly squared off to match Bryce.

Bryce plainly wanted to get this over with and claim his prize. The overhand right that came quicker than the eye could see was clearly designed to knock Chuck's head off his shoulders and end the fight with a single blow. To Chuck it looked as if it was in slow motion. He allowed it to come tantalizingly close before ducking under it. His counter punch straight left hand to the point of Bryce's nose wasn't intended to do any serious damage. But it was clearly painful.

Once Bryce regained his balance, his face showed his obvious surprise that his punch didn't land. But he was still confident. And the prize… Something had happened to change Sarah's mind. She had clearly set this up to save face. This was going to be an amazing week. So he ignored the blood flowing from his nose and threw a kick aimed at Chuck's left knee. Again Chuck allowed the kick to come close. But this time his lightning quick counter was much more serious. Bryce never saw the kick coming that landed directly under his diaphragm. If Chuck hadn't pulled back a little the blow would have been fatal. Instead, it just left Bryce standing there staggered as he helplessly struggled to breathe.

"Sarah told me all about what's been going on for the past two weeks," Chuck said as he watched Bryce helplessly trying to recover. "Let me make this perfectly clear." A spinning kick to the side of Bryce's knee sent him to the deck in a howling heap.

Chuck went to stand over his vanquished opponent. "I pulled those kicks back a bit," he said. "I just dislocated your knee. A couple of days in bed, a week or two of walking with a limp, and you'll be fine. But here is my official warning to you. You're nothing but a slime ball. If you ever… and I mean literally fucking ever… as much as make eye contact with my wife again, you'll be using a walker for the rest of your life. Do we understand each other?"

Naturally, Bryce had no way to respond. He was too busy groaning from the pain. When Chuck turned to Sarah, she was grinning from ear to ear. She was standing there with her panties in her hand holding them out to him. "According to the rules I just made up it looks like you've won these fair and square," she said. "I believe you also passed my test. It turns out that Joan was right."

That got Chuck laughing. "Lucky for her," he said as he accepted the winning trophy. "If you would have been forced to pay off and spend the next week on your knees in Bryce's bedroom I would have been obligated to go on a multi-nation killing spree."

That got them both laughing. "I know," she said. "And actually, you're about to go on a multi-nation killing spree anyway. I gotta admit. I never saw myself as a damsel in distress. In fact even suggesting that would be a sure fire way to start a fight with me. But seeing you beat down that jerk to defend my honor. Well, let's just say that I'm looking forward to you collecting your winnings."

Devon came in to look after Bryce, who was still in a heap on the floor moaning in pain. If he noticed that Sarah was naked, and how could he not have noticed, he didn't say anything.

Chuck just shook his head laughing at his wife calmly standing there grinning totally naked. "I think we've created a monster here with this tropical island lifestyle thing," he teased. "You're taking this lack of personal modesty concept to a whole new level. I'm really going to struggle ever getting you to wear clothes again, aren't I?"

That got Sarah laughing even harder. "They are inconvenient and uncomfortable," she said. "And you have to admit, we do actually live on a tropical island."

"Why do we need clothes?"

x-x-x-x-x


	11. The Bartowski Girls Go To War

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

_There was a chapter in Cost of Love with the same title. But this context is completely different._

_Content Warning: There is a ton of sexual activity coming up. Not so much in this chapter, but soon. The plan calls for Ellie to allow Roark and Bowles to think they have broken her in a lurid, lurid, lurid scene. That is still coming. The other girl's job is to keep everyone else occupied and allow Ellie to do her job. I promise that none of this is gratuitous. It has a point. Soon you'll realize that the story depends on it. So if you're not into that sort of thing, you'll have to wade though some pretty lurid stuff to get the twist which will make Joan's plan make sense. If you're not going to be up for that, do me a big favor. Stop reading right now, PM me and I'll be happy to fill you in._

**The Bartowski Girls Go To War**

x-x-x-x-x

Nicholas Quinn came into the room grinning from ear to ear. "I see that congratulations are in order, Agent Carmichael," he said. "Your mission went even better than expected. I expect you're feeling better."

"Yes, sir," Chuck said with his own grin. "Just an hour with the governor really helped. When I was leaving with Agent Walker we noticed they were all on the beach together. So I figured why not? They didn't put up much of a fight. To prove her obedience, Agent Walker here helped me to convince them that it was in their best interest to surrender and not be forced to face a pissed off Intersect."

Sarah felt her heart in her throat. This was the part of the plan that simply had to be sold. If Quinn didn't buy this, they were dead… literally. So far, so good. Chuck had called Roark from the ship and gotten his promise that if he captured the other girls, they would be treated humanely. It was a tough sell. The Ring didn't have much use for CIA Agents, even ex ones. Even when they were just Fulcrum, whenever they captured one, it was customary to make a big show of gang raping them to death then allowing their nude bodies to be found in some undignified position to taunt the CIA leadership.

Chuck had to dance a fine line in his negotiations. He certainly couldn't come across as sounding disloyal to Roark in any way. But he also had to show that he was a least a little protective of the girls. Thankfully keeping his Intersect happy was a priority, so Roark eventually agreed without much pleading. They wouldn't be tortured or raped. But he also made it abundantly clear that they would have to spend some time proving their obedience if they wanted to ever be treated as more than a captive. And everybody knew what proving your obedience really meant to these guys. You did it on your back. But Roark wasn't even that subtle. He insisted that each girl 'volunteer' for explicit 'morale boosting' sessions for his men.

Morale boosting sessions really weren't anything new for Carina, Laura, or even Joey. It's part of what was expected from spies. Ellie was a special case. But there had been a huge debate on if Joan and Alex should even come. After all, they weren't spies. They didn't have any training. And in Joan's case she wasn't even all that sexually experienced. Laura argued strongly against it. Why put them in that danger? And when the fighting started, they would just be one more thing that needed protection at a time when they would have their hands full as it was.

Carina was particularly worried about Joan. It was probably as close to publicly admitting that she loved someone as Carina ever got. She quickly pointed out that they might recognize her as the ex head of the CIA Intersect project, or even worse, as Orion's wife. Either would be a disaster for Joan but the latter could derail the plan. She would assuredly immediately join Ellie as one of Roark's major humiliation targets. Hopefully they didn't know. If they did, or found it out somehow it would make Ellie's already tough job even harder.

Alex was even more problematic. This wasn't really her fight. She had only been part of the family for a few weeks now. But at least wild sex was not foreign to her.

Both ladies were adamant. Joan was maybe more at risk. But she also had the best argument. Maybe the Intersect wasn't exactly her invention. But she had a huge part in its development as a weapon. And it was fucking up the whole world. Besides, this was her plan. How could she possibly sit at home while the rest of her family made such a sacrifice?

Alex was even more impassioned. She had been given the huge gift of living the life of a billionaire. She felt a very real sense of debt. But this was now not about money. It was about something much bigger. It was about family, the good guys… freedom itself. Hopefully Chuck would be able to claim and protect her… a little at first anyway. They agreed to try. But even that was far from a sure thing.

So finally it was agreed. The Bartowski girls were going to war. They were going to use every weapon they had at their disposal with zero guilt. They would win together… or they would die together. It was true that only half of them were ever going to actually be named Bartowski. It made zero difference. They were all Bartowski girls now.

"Agent Walker," Quinn said. "Well done. Welcome aboard. You still have tons to prove to me but that was a good first start."

Sarah didn't respond. He clearly wasn't looking for one. He was just gloating.

Quinn turned back to Chuck. "How did you get the prisoners past their navy?" he asked.

"A piece of cake, sir," Chuck said. "Once I had control of one of their ships it was easy. By the time they realized it and could organize pursuit, I was in the restricted zone. They were afraid to pursue me there, so it was game over."

"Excellent," Quinn said. "Does your new harem of beautiful ladies understand exactly what the role they've 'volunteered' for is going to entail?"

"I believe they've mostly figured it out," Chuck said. "There was a bit of speculation on the boat."

"Well," Quinn said. "I'm sure that we can find some use for such beautiful ladies." He stepped over to Joan, who was the closest to him and placed his hand on her breast over her bikini top. "Very nice."

Joan instinctively tried to stop him. That was the wrong thing to do. Quicker than the eye could see she was feeling her face from the stinging slap that she hadn't even seen coming. "That was pretty stupid," Quinn said as he untied her top and had it on the floor quicker than she could react. "Resistance means punishment. You freely volunteered for this. Understand?"

Joan had little choice. It had been clearly discussed on the ship. When in doubt… grovel. "I'm sorry, sir," she said as she dropped her hands to her side and allowed Quinn free reign to grope her now naked breast. "It was stupid. An instinct. It won't happen again."

Quinn clearly enjoyed her groveling because he groped her for a while. "Understand?" he said to the whole group.

"Yes, sir," quickly came the expected group response.

Quinn stepped over to Sarah, who was the only one dressed in anything other than a bikini. "Agent Walker," he said. "You're quite the legend. I've been looking forward to meeting you for a long time. I've really enjoyed your pictures. You're just as sexy in person."

Sarah was seeing nothing but red at watching this bastard slap Joan's face. She was currently dying to kick that smirk off his face. But this was an Intersect. If she tried to fight, she'd quickly lose. The Bartowski Intersect could easily kick his ass. But for right now, for the plan to work, she had to submit to his smarmy innuendo… for a while anyway. How long it would take Ellie to win Roark over? It was hard to say. Hopefully only a couple of days. But in their planning they told themselves to be prepared to play their roles for at least a week. A lot of things could happen in a week. That could mean a lot of… morale boosting. She wished that she could be there when the plan called for Quinn to taste his ass kicking. But that wasn't likely. Hopefully there would be some tape to watch later.

Her anxious look at Chuck as she helplessly allowed Quinn to gloat while he continued to leer at her wasn't entirely an act. They were going to have to go as far as it took to convince Quinn that Agent Carmichael had complete control of Agent Walker… and was eager to show off that control a little. Except obviously for Ellie's assignment, this was the part of the plan he hated most. It took a firm pep talk on the ship to make sure he realized that he couldn't possibly pull any punches. But at least he looked calm.

Sarah launched into her role. "Sweetie, you promised," she said. "You said that you loved me, that we were going to be together. You promised if I helped you with the other girls no harm will come to them."

If Sarah was worried about Chuck being able to play his role, he quickly proved that she needn't be. "No harm will come to them," he said with his own smirk. "As long as they do what they've agreed to. I do love you. I hope you realize how foolish that makes me look here admitting that in front of Agent Quinn. Yes, we are going to be together. I want that as much as you do. But come on, I still have my duty. Surely you of all people understand that. So you also will have to do as you're told. I told you that before you agreed to come with me. You told me that you loved me, that you'd do anything to prove that. Immediately obeying my orders with a sweet smile is the compromise you agreed to make for us to be together. You said that you were looking forward to it, wanted me to get… well, kinky is the word I believe you used. You do remember that conversation, right?"

Sarah knew that he was expecting a response. "Yes," she said softly. "I did use that word. I meant it. I really don't know exactly what is going. They have done something to change you. But that doesn't change the fact that I do love you… more than I could ever say. These past two weeks without you have been pure hell. I would do anything to not have to go back to that. So I will do anything you ask… with the appropriate smile you want to see. Please don't question any of that. I guess I was hoping it would be a little different. But I do remember. If that's the only way we can be together, I meant it."

"Good," Chuck said.

Sarah turned to Quinn. "What did you do to him?" she asked. "He's different somehow."

It was Chuck who answered. "Rule #1," he said firmly. "You are no longer a CIA Agent. You now belong to The Ring. You will respectfully address our commanding officer as sir. You will show him the same deference that would you would have shown your CIA superiors. Any possible assignment he issues us, you'll immediately eagerly join me in obeying with that soft sexy smile on your face that we all like so much. Is that understood?"

Sarah swallowed and sighed. "Yes, sir," she said. She turned back to Quinn. "Sir, may I please ask what you did to him? Drugs? Something that might hurt him?"

"Relax," Quinn said with a laugh. "You don't have anything to worry about. I'm afraid that the nature of your marriage has changed a little. The good news is that we're allowing you to stay with him. After all, that's what you agreed to, isn't it? As long as you do everything, and I do mean everything, in your power to keep him happy, we'll get along famously. It's a win / win / win. You get to keep your husband, he gets a hot blonde sex toy to reward him for his hard work, and we keep a happy agent. I think you'll find that he's basically the same guy you fell in love with. Maybe his sexual moods have changed a little. But by all accounts you've always wanted him to be more aggressive in bed. Congratulations, you just got your wish. Of course going forward you'll follow his directions immediately and without protest. At some point you may be given more freedom. Your skills are rather legendary. We might find a way to use that. Of course that will require you to convince Mr. Roark and Ms. Bowles that you're honestly on board. I'm afraid that Ms. Bowles is a little miffed at you. You're going to have to make an effort to get back on her good side. But given those reasonable exceptions, you'll be able to resume your marriage basically as before. In a few weeks, you'll love your new life."

"What about the other girls?" Sarah asked. She noticed Quinn glaring at her. "Sir?" she quickly added.

"They won't be harmed," Quinn said. He turned to address the group. "I hope you all appreciate our restraint. Agent Carmichael here has personally interceded with Mr. Roark and as a favor to him we're going to go easy on you. I hope that each of you will find the time to thank him in some creative way after your initiation period is over. Of course, that doesn't mean that we aren't going to demand some service from you. I'm afraid that we are. Mr. Roark asked me to send you to our northern headquarters. The men there have worked hard… all without much in the way of female companionship. They need a little entertainment. This has worked out perfectly. If you cooperate and provide that entertainment to the very best of your ability this initial initiation experience can be not at all unpleasant. I mean, who are we fooling? You are all nothing but CIA whores. It's what you do best anyway. Once you have proved your obedience, some of you possess usable skills. We might find a mission oriented way for you to earn your keep. Agent Walker will stay with Agent Carmichael…. providing him with some entertainment."

Quinn turned back to Chuck. "Okay, Agent Carmichael, this is your reward for a job well done. I know you're dying to show off your new toy a little. Maybe Agent Walker needs an example of what you find entertaining."

Chuck quickly grinned and reached for the hem of Sarah's t-shirt… and waited.

"Come on, Sarah," he scolded. "You can see what I'm expecting. You're embarrassing me. Do I really have to tell you to lift up your arms?"

Sarah tentatively lifted her arms a little.

"Higher," Chuck said. "I have to tell you, going forward I expect much more enthusiasm from you. You agreed to follow orders so that we could be together. You knew full well what that meant. I'm in charge. We talked about it in detail. Are you really going to now claim some personal modesty? I'm sorry, but your pictures say otherwise. Consider this your official warning. We don't have a Shetland Pony. But I'm sure Agent Quinn could help me quickly come up with a suitable replacement someplace. Don't make me punish you on the first day."

Sarah quickly raised her arms high over her head and allowed him to pull her shirt over her head and to the floor. His gloating grin as he reached over to her was plain. "Incredible," he said. Sarah was helpless to even protest. She held her arms over her chest for a second. But his glare was enough for her to finally allow them to drop to her side, stand there, and watch as he toyed with her nipple. "The pictures were great. But it is so much better in person. Don't you agree, Agent Quinn?"

Quinn really didn't answer. He was far too busy staring. He just nodded.

"Let's keep going, shall we?" Chuck asked with his gloating grin. "Show off for me a little. Smile while you prove to Agent Quinn that you don't have any personal modesty. That you're willing to get kinky to keep me happy."

Sarah really didn't hesitate. She knew that she couldn't. So she forced the soft smile on her face as she reached down and unsnapped her pants. She stepped out of them and did the same with her panties leaving her standing there naked. "Please, Chuck," she said. "I'm not exactly sure what's happening. You know that I'll gladly do anything you ask. But can we please go someplace private if we're going to go any farther? Kinky? Okay, whatever you want. But please don't make me do it in front of my friends. Not so soon. Please?"

Quinn shook his head with an evil laugh as he conspicuously checked her out. "Very nice," he said. "She is undoubtedly the sexiest thing on two legs. You're a lucky man."

Quinn turned to where the girls were standing with some mixture of horror and disgust. But they also knew any protest would just encourage him to press his advantage even farther. "Pay attention," he said. "The quickest way for this first part to be over is obedience. Obedience means your ordeal won't be maybe so bad. Total obedience might even earn you privileges. Disobedience on the other hand…"

Quinn left his threat hanging.

Chuck stood and watched for a moment. "You keep asking me to think of wild things," he finally said. "I'm going to give you what you want." He stepped over to where the other girls were standing and watching the lurid display. He stopped at Alex. "You two teased me that night on the beach," he said. "That wasn't very smart. Now you collectively owe me a good time. It's time to collect."

For her part, Alex was far too mesmerized by the sight of Sarah passively standing there naked to react. Even when Chuck reached for the tie of her bikini top she didn't do anything except stare at the lurid sight with wide eyes until Chuck was holding it in his hands.

"Chuck, please," Sarah said. "I'm sorry if you think we teased you. I get that you're proving a point to me. Trust me. Your message has been received loud and clear. But could we please take Alex someplace private? I promised you I'd make myself get into this with her. I'll pay off as many times as you want. But can we maybe ease into this a little and not be so public… at first anyway? Please?"

"I don't know," Chuck teased. "Agent Quinn really wanted to see this. If I do you this favor and take you to my room, I expect extra effort. Maybe some sexy dancing. You're very good at that."

"Of course," Sarah said. "Anything you want. Please?"

It was actually Quinn who stopped him. "Sorry, Chuck," he said laughing. "As much as I would enjoy seeing this, I can't stay anyway. I have to leave to deliver the ladies. Their ride is here. Ted and Jenifer are waiting. And you know that they don't like to wait. I'll leave this one here with you to assist your lovely wife in making you happy. I'll be back sometime to check and see how she's doing. Enjoy the show."

Quinn directed his attention back to Sarah. "This isn't close to being over," he said. "I'll be right back. Hopefully Agent Carmichael here gives me a good report about your obedience. And here's the best part. As many times as he wants? An Intersect can go all day if he wants too. Ten minutes later he can be ready to go again. Time after time after time."

"But being married to one I assume that you already knew that."

x-x-x-x-x

When Quinn left, Chuck took Sarah and Alex down the hall to his room. Room wasn't the right word. Roark went to great pains to make sure the Intersects were very comfortable. It was more like a luxurious apartment. There was a separate bedroom, living room, even a small kitchen. As soon as the door was closed, he had a still naked Sarah wrapped in his arms. "I'm so sorry," he said. "That was too close. We should have figured out a better way to prevent that."

At first Sarah looked around in concern. "Are we secure in here?" she asked.

"Yes," Chuck said. "This entire complex is swept multiple times a day. This suite is sound proof and lined in lead. They are actually paranoid about being bugged."

"Then exactly why are you sorry?" Sarah asked with as much smile as she could manage as she pulled her shirt back on. "That worked perfectly. We saved Alex, didn't have to go very far at all, and he completely bought it."

Chuck paused for a long moment. "I know," he finally agreed. "It could have been a lot worse. Look. I know how possessive this sounds. You're… Sarah, you're just the very center of my universe. I can't stand the idea of that pig disrespecting you by looking at you like you're a piece of meat… imagining the disgusting things he is going to make you do the first chance he gets. Bryce was bad enough."

That got Sarah laughing. "And that's why you're sorry?" she asked incredulously. "It's one of the sweetest things you've ever said to me. In case you haven't gotten this yet, I want to be your possession. I love it when you get possessive and stake claim to what's yours. Besides, we've talked all about this. We're doing it for a reason. It's what we have to do. I wasn't lying yesterday. If being Agent Carmichael's obedient sex toy is what it took for us to be together, I'd have gladly done it… even without the plan. I'm very proud of the way you sold that to him. Look, Chuck, I know how hard that was for you, how much you hated making me strip in front of that jerk. But to me it honestly wasn't bad at all. We showed him some skin. You know that doesn't bother me. It apparently bothers Alex here even less. I get that you're worried about me… about us. It's sweet. But as long as I know you're okay, then you don't worry about me. You can consider that an order."

"We showed him a lot of skin," Chuck corrected. "But at least we didn't have to go farther in front of him." He turned to Alex. "Please put your top back on," he said. "I'll find you one of my t-shirts. You didn't see the gleam in Quinn's eyes. He knows that Sarah is off limits, for now. I'm afraid that doesn't necessarily apply to you."

"Do I have too?" Alex asked with a sexy pout. "This seems like the perfect situation. We were ready to put on a show for Quinn. I feel a little cheated. Why can't we do it now in private… just for fun? It would definitely kill some time. If you're feeling guilty, we can call it practice."

Chuck looked at Sarah anxiously. But he needn't have worried. Sarah was actually laughing. "Let me explain something to you," she said. "We're on a mission. I'm afraid that you're not going to like me so much on a mission. You were allowed to join us against my better judgment. I'm going to insist that you respect the mission. And, yes. When it is required to sell the cover, we'll do whatever lurid thing Quinn expects to see. If that means you and I put on a show for his benefit, and it very well might, we'll make that show as lurid and as sexy as we possibly can. But when it's not strictly required… Alex, I'm afraid that threesome you're suggesting is probably never going to happen. Even that was too mild. It's never ever going to happen. You're a very beautiful woman. We're both honored that you want this so badly. We get that we've sent you some mixed signals. That was mostly misunderstanding. We're both honestly sorry it happened. But let me say this as plainly as I can. I'm not sharing Chuck with you. Chuck isn't sharing me with you. Please… Alex, please don't make me get all possessive and jealous by dancing on your head. I'd hate for it to come to that. Trust me, it won't be pretty. We still have problems. You might have escaped Quinn for now. But he'll be back. And he's going to be all over you. We talked about this. You didn't see the bulge in his pants."

Alex was suitably chastised. "Yes, ma'am," she said quickly as she tied her top back in place. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you looking at the bulge in his pants?" Chuck asked. "Do I have something to worry about?"

Chuck's attempt to break the tension worked like a charm. It got them all laughing. "You're gross," Sarah said. "Whenever we can get away with it, please keep us laughing. That's the surest way to get through this. Yes, Quinn is a vile pig. He is going to turn whoever he gets a hold of inside out. If he can figure out a way to take advantage of me without you knowing, he will. Alex is most likely going to be his first victim… and probably also second through maybe fiftieth. Sorry, Alex."

"Don't be sorry," Alex said. "I knew that coming into this. Besides, you guys are making it sound horrible. If we're not going to be doing anything, the idea of fucking a guy who can go for hours is not sounding half bad. It's kinda getting me worked up."

That got Sarah laughing harder. "Alex, you worry me," she teased. She turned to Chuck with a sly grin. "You were just bluffing about punishing me with a Shetland Pony… right?"

"I don't know," Chuck teased. "You have to admit. It would be an effective punishment."

That got them all laughing even harder. "That's true," Sarah said. "I do have one rather unpleasant thing to put on the table. We got off easy this first time. Quinn is eventually going to come back and check on us. I'm afraid that he is probably going to need to see something more than just some skin to be convinced of my obedience and that he still has control of Carmichael. There really isn't a safe way to fake that with him. So you're going to have to go farther to sell it. That means Agent Carmichael gives his new conquests some tasks to show off. Maybe that sexy dancing you were talking about. I know that's uncomfortable for you."

"I know," Chuck sighed. "You're not dancing for that pig. Don't worry about me. I'll get through it. I'm worried about Ellie. They are going to put her through the wringer. She's not trained for this."

"You can't worry about Ellie either," Sarah said. "She's stronger than you think. She signed up for this, knows exactly what is going to be required, and is doing it for the same exact reason we are. Besides, I hate to be the one to keep reminding you of this, but Ellie isn't exactly a virgin. We've spent a lot of time over the past year comparing notes. She was pretty wild in school. Did you know that she nailed Devon in a broom closet before she knew his name? I maybe have the edge in training but the plain truth is that she's been with a lot more men than I have… and only one less woman. She's going to be fine."

"I hope so," Chuck said.

"Quinn told you to enjoy the show," Alex said. "What did he mean? Me and Sarah?"

Chuck didn't answer. He just turned on his TV and changed the channel. It was a multi screen surveillance feed showing nine different shots. Most of them were just empty rooms. But a few were different angles of Ted Roark and Jenifer Bowles sitting on a couch. "They are taping all of this," he said sadly. "This is all of the feeds of the various places the morale boosting is going to happen."

Alex looked at the TV intently. "They're taping it," she said. "Why am I not surprised? Am I going to be on here when Quinn comes back?"

Chuck pointed to one of the empty rooms. "Not very private, is it?" he sighed. "We won't look at you as much as possible."

That got a grin. "I want you to watch," Alex said. "It will make it easier for me knowing that you are both watching. I'll be putting on a performance for you." She turned to Sarah. "That won't trigger you getting all jealous and dancing on my head, will it?" she asked.

That got Sarah laughing again. "Alex, you really worry me," she said shaking her head. "Just for the record, watching is fine. In fact watching can be sexy. I'm maybe even hoping it inspires a little Agent Carmichael type activity in here… if you know what I mean."

Chuck ignored the teasing shot. "I'll have to watch the feeds to know what is happening," he said. "We have to know what progress is being made. I'll avoid looking at the girls as much as I can."

"No way," Sarah said. "Didn't you hear me? We're all going into this with our eyes wide open with no fear. We're at war. Every single thing we're doing on this mission is for a purpose. We have no reason to feel any guilt. So I want you to watch everything. We're going to watch together. That's part of the deal."

Chuck reached down to gently kiss her.

Sarah took his hand and led him to the sofa to sit. "That reminds me. You never told me that the Intersect means you can screw continuously," she said in mock anger. "Is there some reason why you've been holding out on me?"

"I didn't know," Chuck quickly said. "I've never tried. I didn't want to use the Intersect in our sex life. You know that. I've always wanted it to be just me. Is that wrong?"

"Of course it's wrong," Sarah said in faux anger but with the grin never leaving her face. "More than wrong, it borders on criminal. I know you want our sex life to be just your skills. We've had that discussion. It's sweet. And trust me here. Your skills are more than plenty. But you are to stop thinking like that immediately. Don't misunderstand. You are more than enough for me without using any stupid Intersect. But you also shouldn't hesitate to use all of the tools in your holster. It would be like me stripping for you and only showing you one breast. That damned thing has brought us enough misery. Why would we have to feel guilty about it bringing us some pleasure? I can't tell you how many times I've had to lie in bed on fire waiting for you to recover enough to jump on you again. If the Intersect can get you ready again sooner for round… um… twenty, what could possibly be wrong with that? So this discussion is not over. Things are most definitely going to change. We're going to put your new endurance powers to a rather rigorous test. I kinda like the irony here. We're pretending that Agent Carmichael has a sex toy. The way it worked out I just got a very real one. We'll talk more about the specifics of my ridiculous expectations in a calmer time."

That got a grin. "Yes, ma'am," Chuck said. "I'll step up. You do realize that we can't spend all day in bed? We have to eat."

"Maybe not all day," Sarah said, her eyes sparkling. "I also love to dance. But you know that I can easily talk Chef into delivering our meals to the bedroom."

"I'm curious," Alex said, more to change the subject than anything. "If sexy dancing is out, what is Carmichael going to have his conquests do to prove things are kosher to Quinn?"

That got a grin. "I… um, well, I guess it was Carmichael, sorta invented a contest a couple of weeks ago," Chuck said. "Sarah here isn't shy about telling me that she rather enjoyed it. As long as watching is okay, maybe you'd like to challenge the reigning champion?"

"Yeah," Alex grumbled. "I heard all about that thing on the plane. Laura said the fix was in, mumbled something about a biased judge, and wants a rematch. Joey was also more than interested in taking a shot at the champ. Is there honestly any way for me to win?"

It was Sarah who piped up. "Probably not," she said laughing. "Even if the judge was fair… and he's not… I simply have far too much experience in this particular activity."

Alex didn't back down. "I'm a fast learner," she argued with a gleam in her eye. "I'll admit that I don't have a ton of experience. Not to sound boastful, but I haven't ever had much problem getting someone else to do that for me. But I've always liked a challenge. Don't count me out. Maybe when we get back we can find a fairer judge… Devon maybe. He's a doctor."

That got Sarah laughing harder. "Alex," she said. "You're so cute. But you honestly don't have a clue who you're talking too, do you? You may have to learn the hard way just how competitive I can be."

"Sweetie, you seriously worry me."

x-x-x-x-x


End file.
